Status Offenders Services (SOS) are designed to remediate youth and family behavior problems that threaten to disrupt family life to the extent that the family feels unable to care for their adolescent children. Through individual and family counseling interventions, youth are supported in taking age-appropriate developmental steps toward independence while maintaining safety and stability within the family, school, and community. Parents are supported in setting age-appropriate boundaries and in learning how to positively communicate with their teenager. Other community resources are used if the family's needs warrant such referrals.
The target population is youth from 10 to 17 years of age. The program provides the majority of services in community-based settings, such as homes, schools, and community locations. The goals are most often to keep the families intact, to keep the youth in his/her own school, and in his/her own community.
