Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jane A. Ungemack, Dr PH¹, Jennifer E. Sussman², Robyn M. Anderson, MA, LADC, LPC³, Lillian Mercado⁴, and Sandra Adorno⁴. (1) Department of Community Medicine and Healthcare, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, 263 Farmington Avenue, Suite 260, MC-6325, Farmington, CT 06030-6325, (2) Department of Community Medicine and Healthcare, University of Connecticut Health Center, 263 Farmington Avenue, Suite 260, MC-6325, Farmington, CT 06614-6325, 860-679-5409, sussman@nso2.uchc.edu, (3) Advanced Behavioral Health, 213 Court Street, Middletown, CT 06457, (4) Hispanic Health Council, 175 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06106

The Hartford Youth Project (HYP), established by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families as a pilot for the state adolescent substance abuse treatment system, uses a system of care approach to identify and treat substance abusing adolescents. The HYP has built a network of stakeholders, including: referral sources; outreach agencies that are geographically and culturally imbedded in the communities they serve; treatment providers; and an administrative service organization responsible for project coordination and MIS management. Engagement Specialists located at the two outreach agencies (Hispanic Health Council and Urban League) have an integral role in engaging and retaining Latino and African American youth from Hartford in treatment. This culturally competent staff is responsible for: cultivation of referral sources; community outreach to youth and their families; screening and assessment; engagement; case management; service planning; and advocacy. The HYP has a strong family-based treatment focus, and to date over 100 youth and their families have been referred to evidence-based treatment programs, including MST, MDFT, MET/CBT, and FSN, according to their assessed needs. Diagnostic and other baseline assessment data, as well as process and case study data, will be used to describe the needs and issues specific to Hartford's substance abusing Latino youth and their families, and to demonstrate HYP's approach to identify, engage and retain youth and their families in treatment. Culturally relevant issues and barriers will be addressed, as will strategies to overcome these barriers.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner)will be able to

• Describe the development, breadth, and characteristics of the HYP referral and treatment network.
• Identify culturally relevant issues that function as barriers to engagement and treatment of Hartford's Latino youth and families.
• Evaluate and then apply successful engagement and retention strategies and systems approach used by the HYP in order to improve treatment access for Latino youth in other communities.

Keywords: Access to Care, Substance Abuse Treatment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Handout (.ppt format, 1862.0 kb)