ABOUT CHOICE
The Choice
Program is a community-based, family-centered case management approach to
delinquency prevention and youth development. Focusing on providing support in
at-risk environments, The Choice Program empowers youth and engages families
through a multitude of services adapted to individual needs. The program seeks
to foster resiliency in young people by promoting protective factors to
mitigate risk in their daily lives. The Choice
Program recruits college graduates from diverse backgrounds and fields to serve
in a one-year position as a Community Service Learning Fellow. The commitment
provides Choice Fellows with extensive training, professional experience, and
opportunities for personal and career development. Recognized by the
Corporation for National and Community Service, Choice Fellows receive an
AmeriCorps Education Award upon completion of contract. AmeriCorps' core values of “getting things done” and “strengthening
communities” directly align with Choice's community-based approach. While
serving as advocates and mentors, enthusiastic and dedicated Choice staff
develop professional, caring relationships with youth. Choice fellows provide
direct service to youth and their families under the guidance of the Service
Coordinators. The Choice
Program, a not-for-profit organization, is administered by The Shriver Center at The University
of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). The Mark
Shriver, son of Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded the Choice program
in 1987 as a part of the Children and Adolescent Health Advocacy Project
(CAHAP) in Baltimore
City. Two years later, Choice
became a not-for-profit organization of the Recognized
locally and nationally as a cost-effective, outcomes-based program, Choice has
served nearly 19,000 youth and families throughout communities in Annie
E. Casey Foundation Cited in ADVOCASEY
"Documenting
Programs that Work for Kids and Families," Spring 2003 Cited in '05
Parents Voices: "Parents with Children in the Maryland Juvenile
Justice System Speak Out" Gap Analysis
Report Fiscal Year 05 Cited as a "Model Diversion Program in Recognized in
Model Program Guide in 1995 and 2004Overview and History
Recognition and Replication
"Anthony had a problem controlling his anger back them and had gotten
in with the wrong crowd, he admits. Today, he credits Lori Leonard (his Choice
Caseworker).with helping him turn himself around. 'They believed in me when I
didn't,' Anthony says.
Now 23, Anthony is a junior at
Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition
& Advocates For Children and Youth
Praise for Non-Residential Rehabilitation
Programs
"By far the most satisfied group of parents in the focus group were
those whose children had been referred to intensive non-residential counseling
programs. Parents were particularly pleased with the CHOICE Program operated by
the
'I'd have to say that the CHOICE Program is the only thing that turned my kid
around,' one parent reported. 'My son, for three years he didn't smile. He
didn't smile. He didn't show any emotions. Then he got into this group, the
CHOICE Program, and he smiled. He's open [now], he's talkative, he's alive.'
'My son is in the CHOICE Program and girl, they are amazing,' exalted one
mother. 'My son loves them. You talk about going places. They go go-cart
riding, movies, you name it.' Parents also praised CHOICE for providing
incentives for youth to stay in school and work hard towards their goals."
Maryland Department of Juvenile
Services
"The evaluation revealed a strong and statistically significant
difference between the Choice group and the control group on both number and
seriousness of arrests while in the program."
Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention
"76 percent of the Choice youth had no arrests within 6 months,
compared with 55 % of the control youth. Somewhat fewer Choice youth (24
percent compared to 30 percent) had been arrested for medium or major
offenses."
