Authorizing the Mayor to submit training grant applications to various agencies which have shown interest in funding such a grant for the Youth Service Bereau of the City of South Bend

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SOUTH _LEND YOUTH EE_RVICE_! UREAU TRAINING rRCPOSAL Throughout the 19!0's concern over the deterioration of the family his mounted. Many factors have caused pressures .and strains on the family unit. The ever - increasing divorce rate has brought with it the concept of single - parent families and blended families. With juvenile crimes on the rise, the numbers of youth placed in institutions has increased. The Mobile Society we live -in has left many families isolated and without roots. As a social serving ardency, un, at Youth Service Bureau has found it necessary to address some of these issues with the hope of meeting the needs of youth. Youth Service Bureau has been in operation in the South Bend community for six years. The mission of our organizations is to prevent and divert youth from the juvenile justice system. Our Focus has been primarily on the youth and serving his needs. We have become increasingly aware of the importance of working with the family. In order-to further our mission we believe it is necessary to support and strengthen the family unit and to loos: at youth in his total social context. Our experience with individuals and families and our continuing commitment to the value of the family unit has led Youth Service bureau to invesCigate a theory that enables us to view the entire family system. For these reasons, Youth Service Bureau has chosen to implement a family systc-s theory approach. This approach requires a year of training for the staff. Thy Follo: ng are the goals of our training program: I. To introduce family systems theory to the staff. 2. To give /teach skills for identifying repetitive patterns in a family system that make a Family dysfunctional. 3. To teach /give tools to the staff for intervening in a family system. 4. To develop an intensive crisis intervention program based or systems theory for the Runaway Shelter. 5. To identify staff members interested in doing family therapy_ with .:molt, families. To accomplish the aforementioned goals, we have developed a plan for training. Following are the five components that will constitute the on -year training: Componen L I : T. n -day intensive training in Family sys tcps theory to ue com- pleted in month one. This compnr.ent will introduce family systems theory and will be jwh didnicLic and experiential in nature. The training wi l l include a hWorical v�rvicj of the theories of such wainr practitioners as Salv.-dcr- Minuchin, Virc;inia Satir, and Carl Whitoker. This teaching will video UK! of those call- known clinicinn�, at work. The participants will be taught initial interviewin I techniuwu5, infor- mation gathering techniques. hynothesis develop;na, and renerstinHal aQping. The purpose is to provide the entire staff with a common phi Ksophical and theo- retical base for working with youth and their ram 1 ies. Component I2 T,oNvo session family systems sowinar to bu enaleted in months 4, 5, and b. This is an expansion of the material in thn tyn -day intensive training and includes additional expo,ure tin clinical interventions. It would he f"r 9taFf