Troubled Teens Resources

“We’re building a reputation that if you’re having a party, you’re probably going to see us,” Prevost said.”

Such is the determination of a group of Vermont law enforcement officers that take part in a teen crisis intervention program known as START, or the Stop Teen Alcohol Risk Team.

Developed to combat the scourge of underage drinking, SMART exists to prevent parties from ever starting, breaking up ones that they find and educating adults on the risks they incur if they facilitate a teen drinking party.

“The START team can be activated anytime, anywhere. Officers will even get called out from home.

Team members said each underage drinking party police find out about is investigated, and the adults responsible for providing the space — whether they are aware of the party or not — and the alcohol can be charged criminally or civilly.”

Instead of facing criminal charges, teenagers discovered drinking are put through a diversion program that includes counseling if an alcohol screening test indicates any signs of alcoholism.

“If they satisfactorily complete the requirements laid out by diversion (that are individual, based on screening) they have a clean slate,” said Montpelier Police Sergeant Facos.”

Though alcohol and drug abuse are a concern throughout the year, the approach of prom season and summer have communities gearing up to make underage drinking as difficult as possible, both for the teenagers and the misguided parents who allow the parties to go on.

“Although the underage drinking ethic hasn’t changed, as more parents become educated about the hazards of underage drinking, their attitudes seem to be changing.

“I don’t get yelled at or hung-up on anymore by parents I call in the middle of the night,”

(Source)

Teen crisis intervention encompasses a whole host of dangers that troubled teens face. With the approach of prom season, summer boating, and teens on vacation, alcohol consumption moves back into the spotlight. Unfortunately, the latest studies indicate that the age teens start drinking has moved lower to the 12 year old bracket, and unfortunately, parents are still cited as the source for those first drinks.

Here are some observations on teen alcohol consumption.

• Very young children – even preschoolers – can tell that alcohol has an effect on people that other beverages do not. In fact, children begin forming opinions about alcohol at an early age, and they tend to view it negatively.9
• Boys’ beliefs tend to be more favorable toward drinking than those of girls. Boys also tend to associate drinking with being more grown up
• Adolescents ages 12 to 14 believe that the positive benefits of drinking (feeling good, fitting in with peers) are more likely to occur than the negative effects of drinking (feeling sick, causing serious health problems). Youth ages 12 to 14 who expect to gain greater social acceptance from drinking are more likely to begin to drink as well as to consume alcohol at faster rates.
• Adolescents ages 12 and 13 see other people, including their parents, as less disapproving of their engaging in drinking than do younger children
• Fifty-six percent of students in grades 5 through 12 say that alcohol advertising encourages them to drink.
• In an annual survey of adolescents, 56 percent of 8th graders, 52 percent of 10th graders, and 43 percent of 12th graders believe that having five or more drinks once or twice each weekend is harmful.
• Seventy-five percent of 8th graders and 89 percent of 10th graders believe that alcohol is readily available to them for consumption.
• Eighty percent of 12- to 17-year-olds surveyed think that alcohol negatively affects scholastic performance, and 81 percent believe it increases the likelihood of getting into trouble.18
• Twenty-two percent of youth under age 18 report drinking at least once a week.

(Source)