Publications: Runaway and Homeless Youth

Assessment and screening are among the first steps in treating adolescents in at-risk situations, including runaway and homeless youth. When a young person comes to you for help, you need to know:  Does the young person suffer from mental health problems? Does he or she abuse drugs or alcohol? How well does the youth make everyday decisions? In order to answer these questions and to continually evaluate program effectiveness, many social services agencies use already existing screening and assessment tools or design their own.