Education

Traditional mental health approaches for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders often fail to yield successful results. However, one method, Multisystemic Therapy (MST), which represents a departure from traditional treatment strategies, is described. MST was designed to provide communities with affordable and effective remedies for juveniles ' problems. The goal of MST is to provide an integrative, cost-effective family-based treatment that results in positive outcomes for adolescents who demonstrate serious antisocial behavior. It focuses first on improving psychosocial functioning for youth and their families so that the need for out-of-home child placements is reduced or eliminated. It is based on the philosophy that the most effective and ethical route to helping children and youth is through helping their families. Success is measured in terms of reduced recidivism rates among participating youth, improved family and peer relations, decreased behavioral problems, and decreased rates of out-of-home placements. Details of the program are provided, such as length of service, staffing patterns, hours of service, location of services, and training. Four different communities that use the MST program are described. (RJM) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document.