Success Story - ADP
Richard
is an 18-year-old male who was arrested and charged with petit larceny for allegedly stealing
candy bars and ice cream with the intention of reselling them. Richard was 17-years-old
at the time of arrest, and was already serving adult probation for a previous
larceny charge. Subsequently, Richard was remanded to Riker’s Island on this
case, which is not always the outcome for petit larceny offenses. When the
Bronx Community Solutions resource coordinator became aware of Richard’s case,
he arranged for Richard to be assessed by the Youth Justice Social Worker to
create an alternative to incarceration plan.
The
assessment identified Richard as having high needs related to family support,
housing, mental health and education. Richard was effectively homeless, and at
the time he was arrested had not had access to food in nearly three days. He
had no support services in place to address any of the high-risk factors he
presented. Bronx Community Solutions recommended Richard participate in six
months of intensive case management at Bronx Community Solutions, with the goal
of stabilizing his housing, education, and mental health.
All
parties agreed to the BCS recommendation, and Richard was released from jail and
began meeting with YJSW once a week. Richard worked with BCS to become
consistent in his appointments with Probation, and learn strategies and coping
skills to manage depression and anxiety. He was able to reactivate his
Medicaid, and get connected to a long-term mental health provider in his
community. Richard is back in high school and the school reports he is off to a
good start, having demonstrated consistent attendance so far. Richard has had
one positive compliance report to the Judge, and is on his way to completing his
court mandate. As a result of receiving ADP services, Richard gained support to
deal with complex issues and increased his internal motivation and
determination to stay out of the criminal justice system. He is expected to
complete his six month mandate with the BCS Adolescent Diversion Project in
December 2014.
- Rebecca Stahl, LMSW
Bronx Community Solutions, Adolescent Diversion Program Case Manager
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