Program Goals

The goals of Citrus Helping Adolescents Negatively Impacted by Commercial Exploitation (CHANCE) are:

• Increase in youth strengths
• Improved interpersonal functioning
• Improved school achievement
• Decrease in oppositional/defiant behavior
• Improved prosocial behaviors
• Reduction in trauma symptoms
• Decrease in depression and anxiety
• Decrease in high-risk behaviors
• Improved life skills

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Citrus Helping Adolescents Negatively Impacted by Commercial Exploitation (CHANCE).

Essential Components

The essential components of Citrus Helping Adolescents Negatively Impacted by Commercial Exploitation (CHANCE) include:

• Utilization of a strengths-based approach that is grounded in the understanding of the impact of trauma
• Emphasis on the physical, psychological, and emotional safety of the commercial exploitation of children (CSEC) population
• Creation of opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment
• Acknowledgment of the emotional and behavioral issues in the school, home, and community environments for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and how to cope with them
• The CHANCE Community Response Treatment team key components include:
• A treatment team consisting of therapists, a coach, an analyst, and a case manager (see below for more detail) works with youth across the continuum of care.
• Youth may reside in alternative placements in an effort to stabilize them in their current environment or assist in the identification and transition of the client to an appropriate living situation.
• Children may reside in foster homes, shelters, group homes, relative and nonrelative care, and State-Wide Inpatient Psychiatric Programs.
• Within the Specialized Therapeutic Foster Care Program, the key components of the program include:
• A CHANCE-trained foster parent in addition to a treatment team consisting of therapists, a coach, an analyst, and a case manager (see below for more detail) who work with youth while they are in the STFC Program.
• Placement in a stable and secure family unit that will commit to their care.
• CHANCE foster parents are specially trained with a 24-hour manualized training that focusses on both the behavioral and emotional needs of this population and the unique social factors related to commercial sexual exploitation.
• Foster parents are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, to respond to crises or to the need for special therapeutic interventions. They are an integral part of the treatment team.
• CHANCE program requires that the CHANCE youth be the only foster youth placed in the home. This placement allows the foster child the opportunity to be the primary focus of attention in the home. The foster parents are able to devote their time, attention, and energy to the CHANCE clients without distraction.
• Additionally, in an effort to support the CHANCE foster parents and clients, the program also includes the opportunity to enhance the services that the child receives in the home with the inclusion of appropriately trained 24-hour Specialized Home Support Staff. The support staff assists the foster parents in the home for specified time periods to assist in meeting the emotional and behavioral needs of this challenging population.
• CHANCE foster homes are secured with an advanced alarm system that will both alert the foster parent of intruders and allow the parent to be aware if the child is leaving the home without permission.
• The multi-disciplinary team members of the CHANCE STFC treatment team and the Community Response Treatment Team include:
• Individual Therapist: CHANCE clients receive individual therapy (1 to 5 times a week based on clinical necessity) by a Master's- or Doctoral-level therapist trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Motivational Interviewing. Therapists are available to the youth 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They provide all services out in the community at locations requested by the youth.
• Family Therapist: Family therapy is available by a Master's- or Doctoral-level therapist when necessary and will be initiated when deemed appropriate to address family conflict, poor communication, and dysfunctional family systems.
• Life Coach: A life coach who is a survivor of commercial sexual exploitation is available to provide 24-hour support, assistance, and advocacy to the girls, when appropriate.
• Certified Behavioral Analyst (CBA): The CBA's services are available to address the behavioral needs of this population, as clinically indicated.
• Targeted Case Manager: The targeted case managers are essential for CHANCE clients and they facilitate linkage to all appropriate support services.
• All CHANCE clients and their caregivers (including foster parents, shelter employees, group home workers, relatives and nonrelatives, and inpatient psychiatric workers) also participate in 16 weeks of manualized group therapy. The primary goal of the CHANCE group for survivors of commercial exploitation is to provide psychoeducation about sexual exploitation and it covers topics ranging from identification and understanding of commercial exploitation and precursors to CSEC to understanding the impact of CSEC and the importance of treatment.
• Parents or caregivers participate in weekly family therapy, if deemed appropriate.
• Parents are asked to participate in a treatment team meeting every 90 days which will include all members of the youth's treatment team: Psychiatrist (if applicable), individual therapist, family therapist (if applicable), Life Coach, Targeted case manager, legal guardian, foster parents (if applicable), and authorized biological family members
• A key component of the CHANCE team is the commitment to continuity of care. As such, CHANCE services can continue as a child moves on across levels of care or as the child enters and exits the foster care system. The CHANCE team will follow the client and continue to provide services in higher or lower levels of care (including relative and nonrelative care, adoption, and reunification) as long the child continues to reside in the local county. Services will continue until they are no longer deemed clinically indicated.

Program Delivery

Child/Adolescent Services

Citrus Helping Adolescents Negatively Impacted by Commercial Exploitation (CHANCE) directly provides services to children/adolescents and addresses the following:

• Commercial sexual exploitation, lack of housing and support, behavioral and emotional problems, trauma symptoms, lack of independent living skills, substance use, academic difficulties

Parent/Caregiver Services

Citrus Helping Adolescents Negatively Impacted by Commercial Exploitation (CHANCE) directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:

• Parents or caregivers of youth who have been commercially sexually exploited

Recommended Intensity:

Varies by clients but usually at least once a week; if client in STFC Program, then daily contact with the trained foster parent

Recommended Duration:

On average 1 year

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Foster / Kinship Care
• Outpatient Clinic

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Citrus Helping Adolescents Negatively Impacted by Commercial Exploitation (CHANCE) has materials available in a language other than English:

Spanish

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

All clinical services are completed in the community.

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

Therapists must have a Master's level degree in a mental health field. Supervisors must hold a license in mental health profession.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Kimberly McGrath, PsyD
  Kimberlym@citrushealth.com
  phone: (305) 424-3031

Training Type/Location:

Provided on-site

Number of days/hours:

24 hours which can be three 8-hour days or spread out to be six 4-hour days

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Currently, there are no published, peer-reviewed research studies for Citrus Helping Adolescents Negatively Impacted by Commercial Exploitation (CHANCE).

Additional References