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<br />Summarize the risk and resource assessment that has been conducted for the targeted area, including the needs <br />or risk factors that will be met by the proposed project: <br /> <br />The Unruly Diversion program addresses many of the risk factors. The Uniform Judicial Court Act defines the unruly <br />child as "habitually disobedient of the reasonable and lawful commands of the parent, guardian, or other <br />custodian and is ungovernable". Family management problems and family conflict are two risk factors predictive <br />of all five of the problem behaviors (substance abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy, dropping out of school and <br />violence). While the definition of unruly refers to the reasonable commands of parents, the unruly adolescent often <br />behaves in the same manner while in school. In the school domain certain predictive risk factors are also present <br />including "early and persistent anti-social behavior, academic failure beginning in late elementary school and lack of <br />commitment to school. Finally, these behaviors extend to relationships with their peers as reflected in alienation <br />and rebelliousness, friends who engage in problem behavior, favorable attitudes toward the problem behavior and <br />the early initiation of problem behavior. <br />These risk factors come to the attention of the community in a variety of ways. The child welfare system is <br />investigating "adolescent maltreatment"; the court is citing youth for running away and curfew problems; the school <br />is seeking to remedy truancy, suspension, school failure and school behavior (teasing and taunting) and homeless <br />programs see youth who have been "kicked out or pushed out" of their homes. <br />In Cass County the official statistics reflect the problem: <br />./ 2,276 offenses were committed in Cass County in 2002 (Kids Count)) <br />./ 412 youth were charged with unruly offenses in 2002 (Kids Count) <br />./ 11.9% of youth in the Search Survey reported that "in the last four weeks they skipped school 2 or <br />more times, 3.3% skipped more than 6 days <br />./ 249 dropped out of school in the 2002-03 school year according to Kids Count <br />./ 981 child abuse and neglect reports were filed in 2002 in Cass County (NO OeptofHuman Services) <br />./ 815 children in Cass County were impacted by domestic violence in 2002 (NO Council of Abused <br />Women's Services) <br />Youthworks statistics show that: <br />./ 68 students were referred to the Youthworks out-of-school suspension program in the last semester <br />of the 2004-05 school year <br />./ 35 truants were referred to Youthworks truancy program in 2004 <br />./ 139 youth were in the diversion program in 2004 <br />The unruly diversion program focuses exclusively on adolescents with unruly behavior in the home, at school and <br />with peers. <br /> <br />In 2003-05, nineteen percent (19%) of the population referred for diversion services were minority youth. <br />Youthworks has provided services to minority youth since its inception. All of the staff has received training in <br />cultural competency. An understanding of cultural issues is critical to professional licensure and all of the staff <br />in the diversion project are licensed social workers. Youthworks does serve youth that do not speak English, <br />and interpreters are available. Youthworks has just begun working with Cultural Central in Moorhead where the <br />we will provide homework assistance and recreation-leisure programming at their site. <br />