LANSING – More than 250 Ingham County adolescents will be receiving substance abuse treatment services under terms of a federal grant just awarded to Lansing’s Child & Family Services, Capital Area by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Over $740,000 will be distributed to the agency during the three-year funding period to “expand and enhance” their adolescent counseling program. “There were 188 applicants for these funds,” said Jim Paparella, Executive Director of the agency. “Of those, only 22 were funded. Our success was due in part to broad based support and cooperation from many area organizations and agencies who threw their hat in the ring, rolled up their sleeves, and set their sights on helping us to get this award.” In addition to their success with the federal grant award, Child & Family Services received a $150,000 grant award from the Mid-South Substance Abuse Commission, which distributes state and local funding to substance abuse treatment and prevention programs throughout central Michigan. Both grants will be integrated and offer a continuum of services to troubled adolescents and their families.

Kathy Davis, Project Director for the federal grant, stated that she is “focused on moving our existing adolescent program from modest in scope to an unprecedented level of service capability and collaboration. We have to make sure that the transition goes smoothly and without disruption to our current clients. We’re hoping to roll out the new program model around late November. That will give us time to hire additional personnel, send clinical staff to specialized training, and coordinate our services with other youth serving agencies throughout the area.”

Named New Focus, the project is based on the federal government’s newly developed protocol for treating adolescent substance abusers. Called “Motivational Enhancement Therapy/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” (MET/CBT), this protocol is considered a highly effective, but brief method in working with adolescent substance abusers. The New Focus program will be evaluated for success by an independent consultant.

“The traditional approach to treating substance abusing adolescents was modeled after adult programs and has proven to be largely ineffective,” said Paparella. “Our project model is based on cutting-edge national research and incorporates a whole host of issues that must be taken into account in order to successfully engage youth in treatment and recovery. This includes family dynamics, cultural issues, peer pressure, school problems, language barriers, and even transportation. Our new program is designed specifically for young people. It doesn’t mean that youth aren’t responsible for their behavior, but it does mean that we won’t be putting them through the typical “cookie cutter” program that ignores the motivational factors unique to each youth. I believe that because of this new funding stream, our agency has the potential to make a huge difference in the lives of Ingham County’s teens.”

Anyone interested in obtaining additional information about the program should call Child & Family Services, Capital Area at 517-882-4000.