ABC – Adolescents Building Connections

The Adolescents Building Connections (ABC) program, run through Quantum, delivers an intervention-based response to family violence. It is a targeted and responsive program that encourages positive behaviour choices, while supporting young people to form healthy relationships in their lives.

The program seeks to work with young people who display traits of aggression, violence or bullying behaviours. At the moment, individuals are often identified only after they have an interaction with the justice system.

The ABC program has been operating since 2019 and during this time the program has reported:

• A decrease in incidents of physical violence and property damage;
• Parents/Carers identified positive changes in decision making and choices with genuine effort being made by participants to make positive choices;
• One parent reported a sense of pride in his son with the positive changes and choices he had demonstrated since completing the program, especially as he had sustained this throughout the COVID 19 situation; and
• Decreased severity of outburst and periods of dysregulation.

COVID-19 has impacted on face to face delivery and Quantum has adjusted the delivery model as follows:

• Continued support for current case managed clients through remote case management;
• Secondary consults for practitioners/case managers and teams, providing strategies and information to assist them to support their clients whilst ABC is unable to provide group work;
• Check in with previous community group participants to discuss any new concerns or questions; and
• The ABC Program is progressing with the development of a program which can be provided as a one to one remote delivery system.

With support from the Department of Health and Human Services Agency Performance and System Support (APSS) team, Quantum sought the support of the Latrobe Health Assembly to extend the funding of the program for a further 12 months. The Board approved this request for the 2020-21 financial year. Quantum has committed to funding the program to 31 July 2022. This extension is required to allow the agency to finalise the evaluation process, to source other funding stream/s and ensure continued momentum of the program during this time.