Chance 4 Change
How does the Chance 4 Change work?
The Chance 4 Change Program requires that the referred youth or their parent call in to the program within ten days of law enforcement contact. Program involvement starts when the youth and parent have an initial meeting with the program coordinator, where the offense is discussed and a needs assessment is conducted with the family. Just like the ReThinking Drinking Program, the youth and parent are scheduled for a two-session workshop in which they discuss the incident around the use of marijuana.
The workshops focus on accountability, decision making, the stages change, identifying harms, and impacts from the choice to use drugs. Youth and their parents are offered information on the health and legal consequences of using marijuana. At the conclusion of the second session, the youth develops an agreement with three to five items to repair the harms to self, family and community that were caused by the marijuana incident. In the Chance 4 Change model, youth are also required to obtain a substance abuse evaluation from a qualified substance abuse counselor and follow all treatment recommendations.
A final meeting with program staff ensures completion of all agreement items and program requirements. The Chance 4 Change Program is a diversion/restorative justice program. Therefore, if the youth completes the program successfully, their case is closed and there is no juvenile record. The C4C program offers a meaningful learning opportunity for youth and their parents to address substance abuse issues before they become overwhelming chemical dependency issues.
If you would like more information or have been referred to one of our RJ programs, please contact EFR Community Services.
