Program Evaluation of an Adolescent Intervention Program: Substance Use Education Program for At-Risk Adolescents

In the United States, approximately 20 million individuals, age 12 and older, have a substance use disorder (SUD), with an average age of first-time use at 13 years old. Evidence has shown that many SUDs begin in adolescence, and involvement with the legal system can ensue. Adolescents with first-time drug and alcohol arrests can be referred to an Adolescent Intervention Program (AIP) as an alternative to jailtime from the juvenile court system. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to evaluate the effectiveness of an AIP, a faith-based drug and alcohol prevention program for adolescents. The W.K. Kellogg's Step-by-Step Guide to Evaluation (2017) was utilized to evaluate the program. Kellogg's Empowerment and Culturally Responsive Evaluation approaches influenced the development of key stakeholder structured interviews (n = 5). The total number of adolescent program participants during the evaluation period was N = 2,437, with an estimated 98% program completion rate. Stakeholder interviewees reported that "for every 100 AIP participants, there is an average of 1-2 returning for a second try." And, "For every 100 AIP participants, an average of 5 or 6 are sent back to court, or a 5% AIP recidivism rate." AIP program recommendations included the development of a participant data tracking system, facility leadership succession plan, a volunteer orientation and policy manual, educational tool kits for parents and adolescents, and increasing the number of parent-involved sessions. Faith-based drug and alcohol recovery programs for adolescents can be an effective means of SUD prevention and an alternative to jail.