The Santa Barbara Alternatives to Violence Project EXPERIENCE Referral System
Goals once program is established:
- To offer AVP Experience graduates (and their families), who are presently struggling with a challenge, resources that can help the family and graduate to function well in their community.
- To refer AVP Experience graduates to be involved in other youth-based organizations that will open doors with those organizations for their involvement.
- To provide opportunities where the tools that youth learned in the AVP Experience may be utilized in organizations where their AVP leadership skills can be used to effect community change.
- To establish positive relationships and valuable ongoing communication within the referral system.
- To provide opportunities for organizations to refer challenged youth the AVP Experience.
Purpose:
- To provide appropriate referrals to AVP graduates and their families for issues not addressed during the AVP Experience.
- To move any therapeutic aspect out of the work of AVP staff and into the hands of local agencies.
- Establish relationships with local youth-focused organizations to facilitate a referral system for a next step in AVP youths’ involvement in the community.
- To assure that the individual changes that happen in the AVP Experience have opportunities to be implemented.
- To work cooperatively with local organizations and agencies.
Referral System set up and ongoing relationship:
- Contact Sheet for referrals to use by AVP staff in the field for referrals to local agencies.
- Meeting individually with potential referral organizations/agencies to introduce AVP to request and determine their level of interest/capacity to help with issues that are brought up during AVP staff contacts with family and the youth.
- Working with organizations receiving referrals in a positive, professional, and collaborative manner.
- Keep communication as simple and clear as possible between SBAVP and referral groups.
- A simple method of follow-up agreed upon with each referral, while assuring privacy of clients.
- AVP staff meets as necessary with referral organizations to clarify any misunderstandings.
- All parties are honoring the MOUs.
- MOUs signed and honored. Updated as needed.
- Annual reassessment/evaluation of Referrals and Referral System
Reporting:
- SBAVP will follow-up with the agencies and youth organizations who received AVP referrals to determine If contact by the youth/family has been made and if it was appropriate.
- SBAVP will track the number of referrals, the follow-up of referrals, youth/family response and any communications with the referral party.
- This information will be reported monthly to the SBAVP Board of Directors as well as to those agencies/organizations to whom we have referred SBAVP Experience participants.
We seek to be cooperative, working together rather than being competitive, learning from one another as the relationships develop.