Communities Helping Adolescents Navigate Grow and Excel (CHANGE)

What is the CHANGE Program?

The CHANGE Program has been developed to provide our youth with a unique blend of components, which may include counseling, experiential activities and mentoring. CHANGE is specifically designed to address and assist adolescents in resolving issues that may contribute to unhelpful or criminal behavior.

Our Program Goals

• To identify and screen the youth presented to our program

  View larger CHANGE logo

• To provide experiential activities, counseling and mentoring services
• To closely monitor the youth’s progress
• To reduce juvenile crime, victimization, and recidivism

CHANGE Target Group

The CHANGE Program is best suited for youth who are identified as having promise, but are still at risk of becoming repeat offenders due to previous contacts within the juvenile justice system.  The youth’s risk is assessed in several categories, which include age, family history, school involvement, substance use, and delinquency factors.

CHANGE Screening Referral Process

A screening interview will be conducted with the identified youth, utilizing the Needs Assessment Inventory (NIA). The Juvenile Court, Department of Juvenile Services (DJS), or Juvenile State’s Attorneys Office will refer most of the youth to be screened for the CHANGE program.  When a youth has successfully completed the screening process and has been identified as a potential CHANGE candidate, the Counseling Team evaluator will notify the referral source, i.e. the courts or DJS, to confirm eligibility.  The Court may then amend the youth’s probation or STET docket status to include successful participation in the CHANGE Program.  

CHANGE Referral Criteria

• Youth must be a Baltimore County resident aged 17 or younger.
• Youth has NOT been convicted of any of the following
• • Rape and any sex offenses
  • Child abuse
  • Fire setting
• Has no severe emotional and/or learning disabilities.
• Is willing and able to participate in the CHANGE Program.
• Parent(s) or caregiver(s) are able to transport the youth to the assessment location, counseling center and all other activities as required.

Getting Started in CHANGE

The parent(s) or caregiver(s) of the potential candidates for CHANGE will be instructed to contact the Baltimore County Police Department’s Counseling Team at 410-887-5823 within 24 hours of the referral.  If no one is available to take your call, please leave a voicemail message for John Worden, the Team manager.  A Counseling Team representative will promptly contact you to schedule the assessment time.

Assessment appointments will be offered at various times Monday through Friday, during business hours.  A representative of the Courts will be contacting the Counseling Team within one business day of the referral to verify compliance.

Note: It is the responsibility of the youth, parent(s), or caregiver(s) to schedule the appointments.  Failure to comply or keep the scheduled appointment will result in contact to the court liaison, which may lead to a recommendation for stronger sanctions to be imposed.
 
Entry into the CHANGE Program

Once a youth has been accepted into the CHANGE Program, the case will be assigned to a team counselor. The assigned counselor will then make contact with you to schedule the first session.  This session is to thoroughly explain the CHANGE program and the responsibility of the participants. The youth, parent(s), or caregiver(s) will need to be present at this session.

CHANGE Program Components

The CHANGE program will provide opportunities for participants to engage in positive activities and experiences designed to enhance communication and leadership skills. Scholastic opportunities will be shared with those interested. In addition lectures by notable people from the community and workshops will be available to address many needs.

Examples include

Classes/Workshops

• Anger Management
• Conflict Resolution
• Peer Pressure
• Decision Making
• Confidence and Self Esteem

Experiential Learning Programs

• Shock Trauma Tours
• Living Classroom
• Genesee Valley

Your counselor will help schedule the various programs identified to assist our clients. Team counselors will monitor the client’s progress, their activities and ensure that participation requirements are met. Our goal is to assist our clients in making choices that will help them achieve their goals in life and upon the completion of the program to remain crime free.

For additional information of general questions call, the Baltimore County Police Department Counseling Team 410-887-5823

Revised July 26, 2007