The RFKCAC Programs Boston
COASA: Children of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
COASA supports children of alcoholism and substance abuse by advocating for them in community forums and developing appropriate supportive educational groups for them in Boston. COASA facilitates school and community-based prevention/intervention services, adapting them to the particular needs of the children served.
The program provides the children with a framework for understanding what they are experiencing and teaches them to break the “don’t talk, don’t trust, don’t feel” rule they live with at home. The children also learn about the Seven C’s: They didn’t CAUSE it, can’t CURE it, can’t CONTROL it, can take CARE of themselves, can COMMUNICATE their feelings, can make healthy CHOICES, and can CELEBRATE being themselves.
The purpose of the program is to provide ongoing validation, support in developing positive social skills, and improvement of individual self-esteem. COASA works within Boston neighborhoods with existing drug coalitions and with the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR). The program offers resources to the children regardless of whether the parents are in treatment.
Detention Diversion Advocacy Project
The Detention Diversion Advocacy Project (DDAP) reduces the disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in Boston’s Dorchester community by providing its highest-risk youths with intensive case management. DDAP is a six- to eight-week voluntary intervention alternative to court-ordered detention, providing young people with culturally relative community-based services and supervision.
Youth advocates identify the highest-risk individuals from the area through referrals from the public defender’s office, the juvenile probation department, community agencies, and families, schools, and special service agencies. Upon referral, youths undergo an extensive assessment, which includes a private interview and interviews with significant parties such as parents and guardians. If eligibility requirements are met, an RFK advocate presents the court with an alternative to detention: a comprehensive community service plan designed specifically for the youth’s needs. If the youth is released into DDAP, intensive case management begins immediately.
Case management includes:
- As many as three daily contacts during the first weeks in the program
- Transition assistance including collaboration with partnering agencies such as Youth Advocacy Project and the Streetworkers Program
- Linking youths with resources including healthcare, education, counseling, drug treatment, employment opportunities, and recreational activities to facilitate re-entry into the community
- Attending court appearances with youths and advocating on their behalf