HISTORY

OPTIONS  was established in 1994 to serve local juvenile offenders of a serious and chronic nature. In 2007, OPTIONS began services to reduce the risk of youth getting into trouble at home, with the legal system, in school or with the use of illegal substances, and to encourage them to become productive, respectful, and responsible members of the community. Initially, a risk needs assessment is administered to youth referred to OPTIONS.

Youth Assessment & screening Instrument-YASI

Identifies risk and protective factors in 10 domains of a youth's life: family, school, community/peer, alcohol/drugs, mental health, aggression, violence, attitude, skills, employment/free time. The protective factors or strengths are characteristics likely to help reduce the impact of risk factors. Youth with moderate to high risk levels can be referred to programs at OPTIONS or another local agency for services designed to reduce identified risk levels.

Programs

The programs at OPTIONS are evidence-based and use evidence-based practices that are proven to be effective in producing positive results. Pre-post evaluations are administered to ensure youth involved in the various programs are gaining skills that will help lower their risk levels. All services at OPTIONS are offered at no charge to residents of Culpeper county. currently, OPTIONS offers:

• DECISION POINTS
  A program designed to equip youth with alternative ways to examine their thinking and related actions that lead them into trouble. It challenges a youth's thinking to do something different other than break a rule or hurt somebody. It is presented in a repeating series of 5 open group sessions. Designed by the authors of Thinking for a Change.

• SCHOOL SUSPENSION Program
  A program for 7th and 8th grade students that have been suspended from school for up to 10 days. The program is designed to offer structure and supervision to the suspended students so they do not fall behind and can get caught up in their school work. Community service is the accountability portion of the program. Built into the program are cognitive self-change learning sessions.

• SUBSTANCE ABUSE Program
  Program designed to teach coping strategies as an alternative to using alcohol or other drugs when responding to problems, interpersonal conflicts or negative thoughts and feelings. Teen Intervene is an evidence-based brief intervention program designed to work with the Model of Change in helping youth identify the advantages of stopping their use of alcohol or other drugs. This is used as a precursor to entering into the brief intervention group and is accomplished in two individual sessions. The Brief Intervention group is designed to help youth identify where they are in the stage of change, what their triggers are, and what change they need to make that will help them decrease or stop their use of alcohol or other drugs. A Substance Abuse Assessment is used to help determine the needs of the youth.

• HEALTHY YOUTH INITIATIVE
  This program is designed to increase the physical activity of youth involved with OPTIONS. The program allows youth to be able to follow/develop an hour-long structured work-out with a trainer at a local gym. Youth can go to the gym twice a week.

• VOICES
  Program is designed to encourage YOUNG girls to seek and celebrate their “true selves” by providing safe space, encouragement, structure, and the support they need to embrace their journeys of self-discovery.

• PRE-TRUANCY PROGRAM
  designed to increase attendance, increase academic success, increase natural resources, increase parental accountability, and to enhance a positive attitude towards school.

Community Service Program

Program provides supervision to youth who have been required community service.  This is work that is performed for the benefit of the community through a non-profit organization(s) that may help teach the youth involved social skills, problem solving skills, labor skills, and how to give back to their community in a voluntarily or unpaid effort. Some youth are placed in the after-school program (OPTIONS CREW) to take care of outdoor maintenance for the County Administration Building, SAFE, Frisbee Gold Course, and the OPTIONS house.  Others are placed at various worksites in the county. 

Worksites include: 

  County Landfill

  Culpeper County Environmental Services

  Town of Culpeper Public Schools

  Pearl Sample Elementary School

  Culpeper Middle School

  Culpeper County High School   

  USDA Food Distribution at Culpeper United Methodist Church

Special events in the community youth get involved with:

  Culpeper Fest

  Culpeper Air Fest

  Century Cycling

  Candlelight Vigil

  Trunk-or-Treat

Options continues to work to place youth at job sites that will potentially lead to future part-time/full-time employment.  OPTIONS continues to find/develop worksites where youth can learn empathy.