This text provides the conceptual and practical information on key issues and problems that students need to prepare effectively for work with at-risk youth. The authors describe and discuss the latest prevention and intervention techniques that will help future and current professionals perform their jobs successfully and improve the lives of young people at risk.

Based on the book by the same title, the Reclaiming Youth at Risk video workshop takes viewers inside two schools and two residential treatment centers that have experienced great success in creating environments that allow young people to transfrom crisis into opportunity and failure into success.

First Published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In the child welfare system some youth do well in their lives, but far too many do not experience positive outcomes by the time they are leaving government services. The youth often feel marginalized and that they were not involved in decisions about their own lives, leaving them with a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. This book focuses on high-risk youth - whose struggles include neglect and abuse, alcohol and drug abuse, the risk of being exploited, mental health issues, and the inability to self-regulate and trust - a population of youth that government child welfare services and community agencies struggle to serve adequately. The focus has traditionally been on punishment-consequence interventions and demanding compliance, but experience and research shows they can be better served through relationship-based practice incorporating harm reduction principles, resiliency and strength-based approaches, community collaboration, and an understanding that these youth typically come from experiences of early trauma impacting their brain development and their ability to form attachments. This book provides an overview of the Get Connected practice framework and philosophy, and provides strategies for engaging and working with the most disconnected, challenging, and troubled youth in society.

Adolescence is a time when youth make decisions, both good and bad, that have consequences for the rest of their lives. Some of these decisions put them at risk of lifelong health problems, injury, or death. The Institute of Medicine held three public workshops between 2008 and 2009 to provide a venue for researchers, health care providers, and community leaders to discuss strategies to improve adolescent health.

This unique volume reports on the largest long-term preventive intervention study ever conducted with children at risk for serious violence and poor life outcomes. From first through 10th grade, Fast Track provided multicomponent interventions to support children, families, and schools in achieving positive social, emotional, and academic outcomes. The book explores the developmental processes associated with early aggression, describes how each component of FastTrack was developed and implemented, and summarizes outcomes up to 20 years later. Vivid case studies track the impact of comprehensive school- and family-based programming on children's pathways through the elementary and high school years. The concluding chapter offers recommendations for using Fast Track components in future violence prevention initiatives. See also the authors' Social and Emotional Skills Training for Children: The Fast Track Friendship Group Manual, a step-by-step guide to implementing one of the core components of Fast Track.

Empower your alienated students to cultivate a deep sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity. This fully updated edition of Reclaiming Youth at Risk by Larry K. Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg, and Steve Van Bockern merges Native American knowledge and Western science to create a unique alternative for reaching disconnected or troubled youth. Rely on the book's new neuroscience research, insights, and examples to help you establish positive relationships, foster social learning and emotional development, and inspire every young person to thrive and overcome. Drive positive youth development with the updated Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Study the four hazards that dominate the lives of youth at risk: relational trauma, failure as futility, powerlessness, and loss of purpose. Learn how cultivating the Circle of Courage values of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity can combat the four hazards. Explore a unique strength-based approach for reclaiming discouraged or alienated youth. Understand how to create a safe, brain-friendly learning environment and break the conflict cycle. Read personal accounts of individuals who have transformed student trauma into student resilience in schools through trauma-informed practice. Contents: Introduction Chapter 1: Enduring Truths Chapter 2: The Circle of Courage Chapter 3: Seeds of Discouragement Chapter 4: Bonds of Trust Chapter 5: Strength for Learning Chapter 6: Pathways to Responsibility Chapter 7: Lives With Purpose Chapter 8: From Surviving to Thriving References and Resources