¡Attención!
SAVE THE DATE!
Rethinking Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Frank J. Kros
January 16, 2009
Austin
and
Youth In Action
February 4, 2009
TNOYS, Texans Care for Children & Children At Risk partner to hold Youth In Action/Children's
Advocacy Day
For more information click
here
History of the STAR Program
In the early 1970’s concern about teen runaways was building around the country, as “flower children” and other disenfranchised youth became increasingly visible on the streets of Haight Ashbury in San Francisco and other urban centers. A series of murders of teens in the Houston area brought the issue to a head, and in 1974 the federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act was passed, creating a funding stream for community-based runaway centers which would provide crisis services to these teens and their families.
In Texas these emerging youth programs formed the Texas Network of Youth Services; and together with another organization, the Texas Coalition for Juvenile Justice, they advocated for a Runaway and Homeless Youth Act for the state of Texas. They argued that no one really took responsibility to serve runaway youth; that these youth fell in a gap between Child Protective Services and county juvenile probation, whose services were prioritized for the most severe cases. As a result the Services to Truants and Runaways program was established as a demonstration project in 1983, with a line item appropriation of $1.3 million. The program was to be administered by the state child welfare agency.
The original program began with around a dozen contractors in the first year (1984). It served youth age 10-17 including runaways, youth at-risk for running, truants, and youth “pushed out” of their homes. The emphasis was on providing family crisis counseling to avoid sheltering youth (even overnight) unless absolutely necessary; a shift from traditional runaway services. The goal of the program was to reunite families, and to divert these youth from entering the juvenile justice system.
The name was soon changed to Services To Runaway and At Risk Youth; and the acronym STAR came into use. The program achieved slow incremental increases in funding over the years; moving from its initial status as a demonstration project to a service that the state is required to provide. Other changes along the way:
- Skills-based training services were added as a requirement around 1989; also, youth at-risk for abuse were added as an eligible client group.
- The program began to expand to neighboring counties, by means of Satellite and Outlying services. “Satellite” means there must be an office at least part time in the county; and “outlying” implies a circuit rider approach.
The 74th Texas Legislature, convened in 1995, dramatically expanded the STAR Program. House Bill 327 instituted significant changes to make the juvenile justice system “tougher” on juvenile crime. Legislative leadership responded to the allegation that these changes would result in even greater over-representation of minority youth in the juvenile justice system, and agreed to fund programs on the front end to help prevent that from happening.
In 1995 the STAR program had services in 57 counties, with a budget of $4.3 million. By 1996, as a result of the massive expansion, STAR had services in 137 counties and served 12,665 youths with a budget of $8 million. New definitions (incorporated in HB 327) now allowed services to 7-9 year olds (non-residential only); services to any youth considered “at- risk,” and referrals of youth who had committed misdemeanor or state jail felony offenses, but are not adjudicated delinquent. The program was re-titled Services to At Risk Youth. A statewide initiative was begun to work more closely with juvenile probation departments, who subsequently have taken a much more active role in referrals and service coordination.
In 1997, with a budget of $13.1 million, services were located in 175 counties, and since the end of 1998, STAR services have been available in all 254 counties; with two contracts in the largest urban counties.