Adolescent Safety and Prevention (ASAP) Project

The mission of this project is: ASAP will demonstrate the strength in collaboration of community members by educating and empowering professionals, parents, and youth resulting in a united framework of response that will meet the needs of homeless, runaway, and throw-away youth (HRTY) experiencing intimate partner violence.

ASAP seeks to achieve this mission through the design, development, and operation of four related activities:

The four partner organizations work together to create an integrated cross-training curriculum for the staff of their respective organizations in the areas of HRTY, domestic violence identification and services provision and working with victims of sexual assault. These training modules are available to other RHY service providers throughout the country. Annual community workshops based upon the training curriculum will also be held for the education of other social services providers and the public in general. An Emergency Response Team (ERT) is available to respond to victims of adolescent dating violence combining the respective expertise of the collaborating agencies. A Protocol Development Team formed from among the agencies staff have authored a handbook on screening, assessing, accessing services and developing safety plans for youth who are either at-risk for or involved in relationship violence and/or sexual exploitation. In addition to the cross-training curriculum, these protocols are included in the Facilitator’s Handbook which is available to practitioners throughout the country. Data that is collected through assessments with youth who meet the victimization criteria will be compiled and analyzed. This information on the characteristics of HRTY who experience dating violence will be used to develop a risk assessment tool in conjunction with Wichita State University.

The staff of the ASAP project includes:

ASAP Coordinator

Represents runaway and homeless youth and is responsible for coordinating the planning and implementation of ASAP Project goals. The coordinator is also responsible for project staff supervision, progress reporting, facilitation of program team meetings and youth therapy groups, etc.

Assessment Counselor

Conducts the assessments and evaluations regarding relationship violence and sexual exploitation with youth ages 12-21 in both TLP and in shelter.

Youth Peer Counselor

Assists in the development of Project activities, provides a peer perspective, and co-facilitates client support groups.

Domestic Violence Specialist

Utilizes expertise of domestic violence issues to assist in the development and provision of the training curriculum, emergency response team, handbook, etc.

Sexual Assault/Abuse Specialist

Utilizes Sexual Assault expertise to assist in the development and provision of the training curriculum, emergency response team, handbook, etc.

Clinical Consultant

Utilizes clinical expertise to assist in the development and implementation of the training curriculum, emergency response team, etc.

Research Consultant

Assists in the development of all research tools/materials and provides consultation on the final development of the risk assessment tool.