Project enter (engaging in needed treatment and empowering recovery) - project enter (engaging in needed treatment & empowering recovery) focuses on 13-21 year-old youth and their families involved…

Project enter (engaging in needed treatment and empowering recovery) - project enter (engaging in needed treatment & empowering recovery) focuses on 13-21 year-old youth and their families involved with the NYC administration for children' services (ACS). The project will provide age-appropriate screening, brief interventions, evidence-based treatment and youth recovery mentoring to 550 youth with substance use disorders (SUD) to create a comprehensive system of care for adolescents and their caregivers. Project enter was born out of a vital need to reduce the disproportionate impact of substance use on NYC's most vulnerable youth, i.e., those whose families are involved in child welfare investigations, those entering foster care, and those who are juvenile justice-involved and in detention; some 95% of these youth are from communities of color. ACS leadership realizes the need to break down silos, identify youth with high SUD risk more effectively, and innovate the way vulnerable youth are connected to effective SUD services and supports. Through cross-system collaboration, the educational alliance, INC., ACS, and specialty adolescent substance use treatment providers will strengthen the existing system of care to ensure more ACS-involved youth gain access to strength-based, recovery-oriented, trauma-informed, and culturally-responsive care. At relevant ACS sites, project enter will implement snapshotnyc, an evidence-based, youth-focused screening, brief intervention, and treatment referral (ysbirt) process; snapshotnyc allows for accurate risk stratification and the immediate delivery of prevention messages along with brief motivational interventions. Following a positive screen and assessment, 75 youth in Y1, 100 in Y2, and 125 in each of Y3, Y4, and Y5 for a total of 550 youth will be fully enrolled in project enter with the goal of strengthening their motivation and readiness for treatment, ensure successful initiation of evidence-based treatment, and ongoing engagement in treatment and recovery activities. The project's youth recovery mentors (yrms) will serve as credible messengers and provide practical referral and recovery supports to youth and caregivers; they will work hand in hand with both referring ACS staff and community treatment providers and support youth's transition and progress. Evidence-based contingency management, via an innovative virtual application, will be employed to strengthen youth engagement. Project enter will enhance SUD treatment in ACS detention settings via implementation of evidence-based practices (e.g. MI, met, CBT, FFT), and ensure that youth in the community will be referred to licensed, qualified SUD providers. Caregivers will be engaged to support their children, as well as participate in screening and, if needed, services for their own wellbeing in support of their family. Project enter's implementation and collective impact will be guided by its steering committee and input from its advisory committee, which in addition to system partners will include youth and caregivers with lived experience.