There are many pathways to getting help and support to become alcohol and drug-free and sustain recovery. Every youth and family member is unique and pathways to recovery are often a highly personal process of change and redefinition. Sometimes the best pathways are grounded in cultural and spiritual beliefs or traditions. They often involve informal community support or coaching by someone who has been a successful "coach or agent of recovery." The path may include treatment or medications, and there may be concurrent or co-existing issues. Getting help is about a process of healthy choices and changes that improve the quality of a person's physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual well being. It starts with a personal recognition of the need to change, and the willingness to take the steps to address it to achieve greater balance, health and wellness. Youth and families can often gain hope from those who share their journey.

Are you a parent worried about your youth's alcohol or drug use? One of the least intrusive, but often-effective early interventions a parent can make is to have a conversation. More formalized interventions include school-based prevention efforts, parent and youth alcohol education classes, or having a group conversation with the help of a trained counselor or interventionist. Additional, or more intensive, interventions include outpatient treatment and residential treatment often referred to as "rehab." A special set of interventions within the juvenile justice system can include arrests, probation, detention or commitment to special programs and services.

To determine how serious your youth's problems with alcohol or substance use are, you need to make a plan for an effective intervention. Often, getting a professional assessment or professional support is a helpful starting place in making educated decisions and taking effective next steps. Alcohol and drug use rarely occurs in isolation of other areas of life. Usually, it can be associated with problems in other areas such as school or work performance, family and friend relationships, in conjunction with mental health issues, acting out, or criminal activities. Assessment is a broad term which includes evaluation procedures and techniques designed to measure key areas of youth functioning as well as the youth's environment. The term "assessment" conveys the idea that the assessment procedures are not single events, but instead involve different types of measurement techniques at different times which can inform treatment and intervention planning. Assessments may include clinical interviews with the youth, important family members or caregivers and teachers; home visits; or psychological testing.

We suggest you use directories on the DMHAS or SAMHSA websites. These lists are updated monthly with facility names, addresses, telephone numbers and services. You may also link with CT 211 for other resources. Programs often are targeted to serve youth according to age and where in the state you live, so consider that when looking through the phone lists.

Knowing your behavioral health insurance coverage information will be helpful as you make calls to set up an appointment for an assessment and evaluation. Have that ready for your calls. If you have no health insurance, you may need to see if your youth is eligible for General Assistance, Department of Children and Families (DCF) or State Assistance (HUSKY under 21 or SAGA over 21). You can contact the CT Department of Social Services for more information regarding state provided coverage.

If you need help navigating the waters and figuring out next steps, please call or e-mail us. Sometimes it is not that easy if you have not done this before.

The GAIN is an evidence-based family of tools used with adolescents and adults to screen and assess for problems in multiple areas. The GAIN Short Screener and GAIN Quick are screening tools often used to identify the need for referral for an evaluation. The GAIN-I is a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment that provides diagnostic information for substance use and identifies the presence of co-occurring and other problems.

The GAIN-I assesses problems related to:

• Substance Use
• Physical Health
• Risk Behaviors and Disease Prevention
• Mental and Emotional Health
• Environment and Living Situation
• Legal Issues
• Vocational Issues

Each area has questions that identify the recency of problems, breadth of symptoms, and treatment including how recent and how often treatment occurred. In combination, all of the information from the GAIN-I helps you get the right kinds of services and a comprehensive treatment plan to address your specific situation.

GAIN ABS software generates reports for all tools based on information gathered during the assessment. GAIN reports are intended to guide clinical decision-making for referral and treatment planning, and to facilitate appropriate sharing of information with other treatment providers, families and clients.

The GAIN is a requirement for all adolescent substance abuse treatment programs funded by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF).

For more information about the GAIN family of tools, go to www.chestnut.org/li/gain.

Connecticut's Juvenile Justice System is diverse and extensive. A Listening Session was held with CTYF and Connecticut's Juvenile Justice System leadership in September 2008. Participants passionately emphasized the importance of recovery school programs in preventing involvement in the justice system, and there was a strong plea for community treatment and peer-to-peer recovery supports such as sober housing, after school programs and vocational training and opportunities. Parents emphasized the need for family education, co-dependency training, and unique services for girls.

Raise the Age CT: Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance presents opportunities for peer-to-peer recovery support models for youth and families. CTYF is eager for increased collaborations with DCF and Court Support Services. We encourage youth and families to tell us your stories and let us know how you want to be involved.

Please click here to see The Killams Point Report for a detailed report on the Connecticut Juvenile Justice System listening session.