News

January 2009

The Importance of CSI in Youth Services

In 2007, CSI responded to a RFP in Baltimore County, Maryland to provide MST services to the juvenile justice population. There was a desire for services that were proven to keep youth out of confinement or residential placements. The growing belief in Baltimore County, and the rest of the country, was that these restrictive placements were not working with the youth. Time and statistics showed that they returned to either a residential facility or the adult justice system. Another growing belief was that residential placements were too expensive at a time when budget constraints were a top concern for state and local government. How could youth receive more successful treatment and save everyone money?

MST seemed to fill the bill. For over a decade, statistics demonstrated that intensive in-home treatment models kept youth from placements outside of the home. The idea of working with the entire family was shown to work extremely well, in cities as well as rural areas. Involving the entire family and teaching parents how to work with their own children made more sense than the practice of "fixing" youth in a residential setting, and then sending them home to the same problematic issues. Residential placements seldom had the resources for family counseling that could make a long-term change for when the youth returned home.

In Baltimore County, a unique system was put into place. It was called the Maryland Compact. This was an agreement between the County of Baltimore and the State of Maryland that whatever monies saved from residential placements not used by youth successful in MST would be split and the County could re-invest their half of the savings in more services. So began a close look at MST services and any savings that might occur in Baltimore County. From October, 2007 through June 30, 2008, 35 families were served in the program. Of these, 27 had been discharged and eight were still being served at the end of June. Only four of the 27 youth who completed MST services had been detained in a restrictive setting and 23 remained at home in the community. This is a success rate of 85 percent! Baltimore County has tracked the savings of using MST versus a residential setting, and plans to expand the number of MST slots available in their county. The state of Maryland has watched and plans to explore the use of MST and other evidence-based services throughout the state.

The trend to move toward evidence-based, in-home services is evident in the United States, and throughout the world. CSI programs in Pennsylvania have seen a great deal of expansion in 2007 and 2008, with more planned for early in 2009. This growing trend in evidence based in-home treatment is worth watching over the next few years. CSI is a Network Partner of MST Services, and is in the middle of important changes in the services for the youth in our country.