Project SUPPORT

Project SUPPORT (Service Utilization to Promote Positive Outcomes in Rehabilitation and Transition for Adjudicated Youth with Disabilities) is designed to assist youth with disabilities who have been released from Oregon Youth Authority custody in returning home and enrolling in school or finding employment. The primary goals of the program are to increase school enrollment and/or employment and decrease recidivism. The program consists of three phases: first, in the in-facility phase, a transition specialist works with an incarcerated youth to define goals and develop a transition plan. Next, in the immediate pre/post-release phase, the transition specialist works to get the youth enrolled in a community school, set up needed social services, and maintain open communication with the youth’s parole officer and other community supports. In the third phase, the specialist works to ensure that the youth remains enrolled in school and assesses him or her for the return of any former negative behaviors.