AT -RISK BEHAVIORS

There are many things that can be considered at-risk behaviors in children. Everything from acting out in school to how a child lives can help to consider them at-risk. It all depends on who it is that is doing the defining. In the school system if a child is getting into trouble at school by acting out in class, not getting along with their classmates, or even failing in their school work they could be considered at-risk. In the social services setting children are usually considered at-risk if they are being neglected or if the family is living in conditions that are not considered standard. If a child has gotten into trouble with the authorities, then they fall into the hands of the Juvenile Justice system and can be considered at-risk depending on what kind of trouble they got into. Most often any kind of trouble that lands them in the probation department would classify them as being at-risk. A child could also be considered at-risk if they have a mental health diagnosis like ADHD or anything on the Autism spectrum. These children have programming available through the Medical Assistance Program in most cases. It is the kids without a diagnoses that have trouble getting the help they need.

One of the keys to helping kids that are at risk is to try to identify them at a young age. The earlier you can get to these kids the better chance you have to change their behaviors. Many times it is learned behaviors that can corrected. In a lot of cases, but not always kids that are identified as being at-risk come from single parent homes that are below the poverty level. In many cases the parents themselves do not know the proper way to handle the stresses of daily life and are not equiped to teach their children properly. So it becomes a case of breaking the cycle.

Indentifying those children that are or may be at-risk at a young age is crucial to getting them the help they need to become the productive people that they can be by breaking the cycle of their family history. In some cases these children are the product of parents that simply do not know any other way. They have been raised in the same manner for generations. In other situations, the parents may not care or may no longer be around for one reason or another. There are many children in this country that are falling through the cracks of the social service system that need help to get out and become productive members of our society.