Addaction releases assessment of drug and alcohol Transitions project

A report has been launched telling the story of the Addaction Drug and Alcohol Transitions Project for Young Adults, a highly successful pilot programme working with 17-24 year olds in Derby to end, or substantially reduce, their substance misuse.
 
Focussing on community outreach work and treatment work for individuals (two tiers of the National Treatment Agency’s model of service provision) the programme offered treatment in line with NICE clinical guidelines and targeted at young people not generally accessing adult treatment services, including those who were reluctant to regard themselves as needing treatment.
 
Staff adopted a down-to-earth, flexible and person-centred holistic approach, which included looking at self-esteem, relationship and general health issues. A specialist post within the local Youth Offending Team helped the project reach young people in the criminal justice system.
 
The project was also notable for having proved highly cost effective, with the costs of individual treatment estimated at around £940 per person, compared to the £3,000 per head identified by the National Audit Office as the ‘cost of funding for every adult in effective treatment’.
 
Recognising the fact that the transition to adulthood is evolving and that young people now take longer to achieve independence, the project drew on neurological evidence showing that the developing brain does not reach full maturity until the mid-20s. In pursuing an innovative model designed specifically with young people in the transition to adulthood in mind, the project contributes to a substantial and emerging body of evidence on the efficacy of such tailored approaches, as advocated by the Transition to Adulthood (T2A) Alliance.
 
The project was joint funded by the Derby Community Safety Partnership (DCSP) and the Barrow Cadbury Trust. When the funding ended its approach influenced the creation of a new drugs and alcohol service for young people in Derby City run by Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, particularly the decision to set its upper age limit at 21 rather than at 18.
 
You can read the report in full here.