Family-Child Resources and the York County Juvenile Probation Office (JPO) are working together, bringing the Aftercare Triage program to the York area.

This program will work: (1) to decrease the tendency to lapse into a previous pattern of behavior (e.g. criminal habits), always a major problem with probationers; (2) to increase the possibility of successful completion of probation without violation; and (3) to successfully reintegrate probationers into the community.

Aftercare Triage (ACT) is a customized approach for the juvenile probationer and his/her family. The program addresses the very significant problem that juvenile probationers in residential facilities often considerably improve their behavior while in the structure of the facility, only to lose their gains once they return to an environment that does not have such a structure. The goal of ACT is to successfully reintegrate the probationer into the community, utilizing the program to bridge the structure and behaviors gained in residential placement to the probationer's family, community, and daily life.

A team consisting of a family therapist, a case manager, and a juvenile probation officer work closely together to identify risks and needs and strategize how to address them. This aftercare team coordinates family sessions with the work being done at the residential facility. The family therapist prepares the family before the youth's return through therapy sessions that address family structure, boundaries, and communication issues. The probation officer and case manager work with the youth while he/she is still in placement to ensure reintegration success. This team approach is extremely important, as research has shown that when working with probationers, failure often results if there is a lack of communication and coordinated effort by the various providers. The ACT program coordinates the resources that the probationer and family need to promote a healthy, pro-social lifestyle.

The goals of this program are to:

• Restore the family hierarchy.
• Restructure boundaries.
• Encourage parents to more readily direct family functioning.
• Set limits, house rules, and consequences.
• Improve parenting skills, family communication, and problem solving.
• Support families to utilize community services and agencies.
• Successfully reintegrate probationers into the community.

Referrals for this program are generated by the York County Juvenile Probation Office.

If you are interested in learning more about the ACT program,
please contact us by e-mail or call us at (717) 757-1227.

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