Options – Because There’s Always a Choice
Youth Health Service, Inc. is constantly striving to meet the needs of the youth in our communities. It is more evident now than ever that our children and teens need to know their OPTIONS when ti comes to alcohol and drug use. Our OPTIONS program helps to identify those youth that are high risk of substance misuse and employs early intervention to prevent long-term consequences of use.
The Options Process
We utilize the evidenced-based SBIRT model for our OPTIONS program, simply put that means it’s proven to be effective. The model begins with a confidential screening that takes less than 10-minutes. Brief Interventions intended to support healthy decision making take 10-15minutes per session and Brief Treatment can be completed in as little as 5 sessions.
This comprehensive approach to delivering early intervention and treatment services is proven to be effective in leading to short term health improvements and research has shown that there are significant long-term benefits as well.
Why Options and Why Now
The 2011-2012 Randolph County Pride Survey of 1,681 students in grades 6-12 revealed some alarming information regarding our young people’s use of alcohol and drugs.
- 6th graders reported their age of first use of alcohol as 10 years old• 6th graders reported their age of first use of alcohol as 10 years old
- Among 261 s6th graders, 3.1% reported monthly consumption of alcohol
- As age goes up, students report greater access to tobacco, alcohol and marijuana
We know from research that early experimentation of substance use can lead to ongoing mental health, physical health and legal problems well into adulthood. Early intervention and ongoing support in choosing healthy OPTIONS is vital to the ongoing success of our young people.