The Strengthening Communities for Youth (SCY) initiative: a cluster analysis of the services received, their correlates and how they are associated with outcomes.

This article describes the Strengthening Communities for Youth (SCY) initiative using data from 1,297 adolescents in eight U.S. cities (Oakland, CA; Tucson, AZ; Iowa City, IA; Bloomington, IL; St. Louis, MO; Cleveland, OH; Louisville, KY, New York, NY) to better understand the pattern of services they received, how these services varied by need, and how services were associated with initial treatment outcomes. Data include adolescent reports collected with the Global Assessment of Individual Needs (GAIN) at treatment intake and 90 days post-intake, information on early therapeutic alliance using a modified Working Alliance Inventory (WAI), and staff reports from service logs. Cluster analysis identified four patterns of treatment received: (1) substance abuse and mental health treatment, (2) primarily residential treatment, (3) interrupted treatment, and (4) primarily outpatient treatment. Outcomes examined included changes in substance use, substance abuse/dependence problems, recovery environment risk, as well as risk from social peers, illegal activity and emotional problems. Overall and for most groups, treatment was associated with reduced or unchanged problems in each of these areas. The exception was for cluster 1, for whom emotional problems actually increased. Implications for placement, treatment planning and future research are discussed.