Problem/Need Statement

Larimer County is one of 64 counties in Colorado and has a population of 299,630. Fort Collins is the county seat and home to the 8th Judicial District Court. Money magazine voted Fort Collins as the number one place to live in the United States in 2006 and described it as an outdoor lovers paradise, great schools, low crime, good jobs and relatively low stress make Fort Collins the best place to live in America. Citizens in Larimer County want to live in a safe environment. Increased drug users, increased drug convictions lead to an unsafe county. The rate of total adult arrests in Larimer County decreased 26.9% between 2003 and 2012. However, the number of adult narcotic arrests averaged 791 between 2005 and 2011 before jumping more than 30% in 2012. In 2009, Larimer County and Colorado reported that the highest number of treatment admissions were for alcohol abuse, averaging more than 40% of all admissions. The next highest treatment category, marijuana, accounted for 25.0% of treatment admissions in Larimer County, which was 14.2% higher than marijuana treatment admissions for Colorado (21.9%). According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), Colorado consistently ranks among the top ten states for illicit marijuana use. During this same time, Colorado and Larimer County saw an equal percentage (14.4%) of admissions for methamphetamine (meth) abuse. Larimer County has the highest percentage of substance treatment seekers under the age of 35. What is the program? Partners in Recovery program was established in 2011 to help individuals with drug addictions manage sobriety and improve basic life skills. In order to address this problem, Partners in Recovery will provide safe, consistent, targeted workshops in six areas. Partners in Recovery will work directly with Adult Drug Court (ADC) and the probation department. Adult

Drug Court is an alternative to jail time offering a multi-phase program lasting two years. The workshops will become part of the mandatory obligations in the phases of ADC. The workshops will have components of behavior, professional life skills, language, resource building, self care, perceptions and reflection. The workshops will provide learning transfer and build on the knowledge from previous classes. In order to aid in success within their journey of sobriety, these classes will assist in building a solid foundation to living a sober, drug-free life. Identified gap and need Adult Drug Court in Larimer County program helps people stop the cycle of substance abuse. With the Larimer County Detention Center and prisons near or at capacity, the need for alternate punishment continues. There is debate on too much money being spent on incarceration vs. treatment options. The average cost of an incarcerated inmate is $50 a day which is paid by taxpayers. Alternate sentencing averages out to be $16 a day and is the responsibility of the offender which relieves the burden of the taxpayer. From 1999 to 2004, the number of narcotics arrests made in the 8th Judicial District more than doubled, according to Compass of Larimer County. ADC is an intensive supervision program bringing together counselors, judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys to actively and forcefully intervene and disrupt addiction, crime and reduce recidivism. Partners in Recovery will provide another option for the ADC to address the cycle of substance abuse. Identified environment According to the Larimer County Compass, 20.9 million, nationwide, were classified as needing substance abuse treatment in 2009. Between 2003 and 2012, the number of probationers increased 72.7%. Larimer County has the highest percentage of substance treatment seekers under the age of 35. If these residents do not receive treatment they need they are more likely to

re-offend or use controlled substances again. Larimer County criminal justice system can be positively impacted if drug offenders receive basic life skill classes. Reasoning defending need for instruction People use substances for a variety of reasons; pleasure, social acceptance, pain relief, unhealthy role models, weight loss, escape etc. Most people dont expect to become addicted or get caught or cause harm to their bodies. However, substance abuse can cause serious health problems including: cirrhosis of the liver, death due to overdose, cancer, accidents, suicide or chronic health problems. Social problems, stressed relationships, loss of family and friends, assault, and lack of physical coordination, concentration and judgment can be affected with prolonged use. Basic healthy life skills are often abandoned or forgotten because of the

addiction. Unlearning former life skills and behaviors will be difficult but using a scaffolding approach to the workshops will help them transition and learn how to continue into a regular, drug-free routine. Audience Analysis This audience analysis includes information regarding the county of Larimer and the Adult Drug Court (ADC). Partners in Recovery program are responsible for creating life skills workshops in a pre-existing program. Drug Court is an alternative option to jail in both adult and juvenile court. Offenders who have committed non-violent crimes that relate to drug abuse or addiction not relating to distribution or sales are eligible for this program. Adult Drug Court collaborates with the Court, probation, treatment providers, and others involved in the criminal justice system to increase direct supervision of offenders, coordinate public resources, and expedite case processing. Through ADC, offenders are given the tools and support to make positive changes in their lives disrupt addiction, criminal behavior and reduce recidivism. Each group of participants will vary, depending on the size of the class, the individual participants and

the demographics of the group. Generally speaking, the presumed audience that Partners in Recovery workshops will be based on Larimer County statistics and previous ADC clients. Larimer County has the highest percentage of substance treatment seekers under the age of 35. Considerations and rationale The primary goal of the Partners in Recovery workshop on finance is to offer tools, resources and understanding of the financial strengths that each person possesses. In order to reach this goal, a few considerations need to be made including: brain development, demographics, prior financial knowledge and predetermined ADC criteria. The assessment tool will be determined at the beginning of the workshop and will consist of a survey; written or verbal depending on the participants demeanor. The survey will address past, present and future topics relating to finances. In addition, drawing from the affective and cognitive domain; class discussion, problem solving and creating financial plans will observed as part of the assessment in class. The frontal lobe and outer mantle of the brain is affected by drug abuse particularly in early development. How could drug abuse affect the brain with people who are addicted to drugs? Disruption of the following skills could be affected: setting priorities, formulating strategies, allocating attention and controlling impulses; the outer mantle is involved with processing abstract information and understanding rules, laws and codes of social interaction (Weinberger, 2005 para. 3). Dr. Ruben Baler has done research regarding brain development with The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). During his research he suggests that brain development is disrupted in the early teen years and often changed the brains structure. What impact does his research have on the brain function? As the brain functions form, drug use is contributed to teenagers taking more risks without thinking about the consequences (Baler, 2013

para. 1). Questions in the survey will directly be related to brain development and past usage. Depending on the responses will help establish a starting point for the topic areas in finance. In addition, questions in the survey will include the history on the individual including cultural demographics, biases, sex, ethnicity and age. Other questions will include, when was the first age you tried substances? What age did you see a change in your behavior or someone else noticed a change in you? Please explain. Depending on the age that substances were introduced to the body will help determine the cognitive capacity of the brain. This information will assist the facilitator in altering the proper use of language and the learning activities for the students. According to the Larimer County statistics, the answers to the demographics questions will probably be a person between the ages of 18-35; male, financially unstable, started using drugs at age 14 and Caucasian. However, every class will represent the potential to have some diversity in the classroom. What are the different extremes that could be in a classroom? The student could be a male in his 30s, married with children, good job, financially stable who got caught at a bachelor party. Or it could be a 21 year old girl that dropped out of school, has no job, lives with her grandparents, who has been using drugs since the age of 12 but never got caught. Or someone in the middle who used drugs occasionally with friends who works at a minimum wage job, lives in an apartment but never seems to get ahead. These extremes in types of offenders in conjunction with different ethnicities, sex and cultural components will add dynamic personalities. As workshop facilitators, Partners in Recovery have to be careful not to lump every person into having an addiction. It could be a first time user who got caught, an occasional or lifetime user. The language used needs to be non inclusive and allow room for diversity. Questions on the survey would address cultural diversity, demographics, preferred

language and biases. During the classroom discussions and worksheets, these will be tailored to the levels of the participants and where their needs are. Questions, Rationale and Responses The content of the workshop will focus on past, present and future understanding of the offenders financial picture. As facilitators, how do we start understanding the students situation? By digging into the past relationship with money can build a foundation for future successes. The workshop will consist of three goals: Goal 1: To increase awareness of childhood financial values and create a personal connection between past and current financial tendencies. Goal 2: Participants will gain understanding of wants vs. needs in their financial picture. Goal 3: Individuals will outline steps for a successful financial future. Who taught the students about money and who were their role models? Understanding their past memories with money will help them understand if changes can be made in their future. What are the differences between wants and needs? In order for the student to grasp the idea what type of spender they are, they have to define wants and needs. Needs are the basics: food, water, shelter, clothes, basic hygiene but it depends on the culture we live in. If students say they need a 2500 square foot home in the mountains with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and a swimming pool, this is partially true because it meets the need of shelter. However, a percentage of the need is also a want and in the workshop this will be discussed. Presently, where are they financially? Do they have a good job and meet their financial obligations? If not, then in the workshop we will discuss how to create a financial plan. Do they have a budget in place? If so, is it working? What areas can we improve on? Do they have a lot of debt? In class we will create a get out of debt plan. Do they understand the consequences of credit card debt? In no one has a credit card; we can omit this from the instruction. Future

goals are just as important: understanding their strengths to achieve goals, what are their financial goals, what is feasible in their plan? Do they have a plan in some areas but not others? If a student in the class responds that they dont handle the money, their spouse does. Then depending on the culture, race, sex of the person adjustments will be made to the class or individual. These questions will be addressed during the workshop and depending on the answers will help shape the content to be relevant for the class. The answers to the above questions may vary. Answering these questions will create a baseline of where to start in the workshop. Creating budget plans, getting out of debt and savings plans can help the student make feasible future goals. Reflections and Objectives Taking all things into consideration; diminished brain development, predetermined ADC criteria, prior knowledge of financial issues and demographics can impact the success of a classroom. During the first 15 minutes after the initial survey, the facilitator will have a pretty good idea of where to lead the class. It is possible that the group dynamics are in contrasting levels within their knowledge in the financial realm. The facilitator will recognize and adapt to the changing needs of the students. However, the value of the finance workshop presented by Partners in Recovery program will be impactful, resourceful and a good review. Utilizing information from the students past, present and future financial knowledge will assist in the students personal investment in achieving their financial goals. Partners in Recovery have a disadvantage because their time with the students is so limited. ADC has granted six 90 minute workshops per ADC graduating class. Each workshop will be on a different topic. The genetic makeup of each class from diverse backgrounds will change every workshop. Therefore the goals and objectives must be broad yet leave room for varying levels of financial knowledge

while offering helpful information.

Partners in Recovery facilitators will experiment, apply,

analyze, evaluate and create when interacting with the diverse population and make necessary adjustments to the curriculum as needed. Conclusion The survey results given at the beginning of the workshops will create an entry point to the information to be discussed. There may be alternate worksheets, large and small group discussions depending on the level of financial prowess an offender possesses. Nonetheless, financial review for some will be unavoidable. As described previously, not all participants in the ADC program will be the same but creating the goals and objectives for the program is the next step to synthesize the need, the content and the data of the known attributes of the audience.