Multi-problem youth: Policy, public health and politics of a vulnerable population

Multi-problem youth include young people who are homeless, in out-of-home care, have parents with substance use disorders or histories of incarceration. These youth are commonly found in the justice system, foster care system, mental health system, group homes and shelters. Outcome studies have shown that in 2003, an estimated 57,000 youth were abusing alcohol and other drugs. Thirty-six thousand North Carolina youth needed but did not receive treatment for drugs, 37,000 needed treatment for alcohol abuse. There is a need to develop a theoretical and empirical basis for understanding how the characteristics of these youth (demographic characteristics; education; socioeconomic status; and physical, emotional, behavioral and spiritual health) and multilevel systems (social, cultural, religious, historical, environmental, political, and economic) interact to impact health outcomes in North Carolina. This research uses secondary data from national and state sources including the North Carolina Treatment Outcomes and Program Performance System (NC-TOPPS), to conduct an exploratory ecological assessment of the characteristics of “multi-problem youth” and social factors that may impact their health outcomes. Understanding these factors will increase knowledge and enhance capacity to create supportive environments. A North Carolina model can be expanded to other states in the rural south and employed to identify, organize and disseminate information on poverty, housing, unemployment, incarceration, lack of education and other descriptors that effect multi-problem youth.