The SAFE Project is a community-based, family-centered program for youth 12-21 in Suffolk County. This project, sited at Dimock Community Health Center and North Suffolk Mental Health Association, will assess adolescents for treatment using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs (GAIN), and will utilize the Assertive Community Reinforcement Approach (A-CRA) coupled with Assertive Continuing Care (ACC).  These are all evidence-based interventions with proven effectiveness in building community capacity for family centered treatment.

A-CRA is a 12- to 14-session, manual-guided treatment that uses individualized, flexible behavioral approaches focusing on the development of coping skills for both the youth and the primary caregivers. The ACC model provides continuing care for adolescents following primary treatment using the A-CRA protocol and a companion ACC manual. ACC clinicians are assertive in their efforts to engage both youth and their families by using home and other community visits and linking them to other needed services. The SAFE Project builds on existing collaborative relationships to expand services for youth and their families, engaging, assessing and treating adolescents in the context of their relationships