Based on the proven technology of Multisystemic Therapy (MST), this unique book provides an exemplary approach to empowering communities to reduce youth violence and substance abuse and promote school success. Effective strategies for working with at-risk youth are embedded in a comprehensive framework that enlists the talents and resources of clinicians, human service professionals, neighborhood residents, community organizations, and outside stakeholders. Using an extended case example to illustrate all aspects of implementing MST on a neighborhood-wide scale, the volume covers empirical and clinical foundations, program planning, and strategies for building collaboration with key community players.

This book contains unusually informative, insightful, and practical information on developing and implementing effective juvenile delinquency programs in very troubled neighborhoods. Remarkably, it will appeal to practitioners, students, and researchers alike--a very rare quality. This is the most user-friendly book of its type I have seen. The format is excellent for optimizing learning. I particularly appreciated the concise introduction and concluding review of critical points in each chapter. In the classroom, this book would make a very appealing, appropriate supplemental text for courses in community psychology, social work, and juvenile justice.--James C. Howell, PhD, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South CarolinaSwenson and her colleagues have taken evidence-based interventions to a new level of sophistication and applied them in a culturally sensitive and empathetic way in a community setting. Detailed and practical, this book will be useful to students and professionals alike who are committed to providing quality services to underserved clients from diverse communities. The bar for all future intervention texts has just been raised by this important work.--Jon R. Conte, PhD, School of Social Work, University of WashingtonThis book is extremely well written, in plain language. It contains a gold mine of descriptions concerning how to approach the challenging task of implementing a prevention intervention in a high-risk neighborhood in a sensitive and thoughtful fashion. I know of no other book that combines the application of a comprehensive, evidence-based intervention for high-risk youth with a thorough description of how to work from the grassroots in order to join effectively with local leaders. I highly recommend this book to any researcher, clinician, or policymaker interested in community-based prevention science.--Ray DeV. Peters, PhD, Better Beginnings, Better Futures Project, Queen's University, Canada-The teachings of this book are useful to a wide range of practitioners and community leaders interested in enhancing the quality of life of people across settings....Readers learn how to support youth, families, and communities to achieve increased levels of safety and academic success, as well as decreased levels of substance abuse and dependence, using a systemic and ecological approach....A valuable resource book that speaks to multiple audiences by incorporating a wide range of voices and experiences.--Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 1/28/2009ffThe authors have presented a complex body of work in an easy-to-read text that can be used by both researchers and practitioners who want to address problems such as substance use and community violence among adolescents within neighborhoods....The text is a valuable tool because it provides both process and evidence-supported outcomes for effective implementation of similar projects....Neighborhood partnerships across the country can be strengthened through the use of the implementation strategies outlined.--PsycCRITIQUES, 1/28/2009ffThe authors of this book have provided a good balance of theory and research along with the practical process element of MST. The book is informative, practical, and accessible to a wide audience of practitioners, students, and lay individuals who may be a part of the community in which the MST is undertaken.--British Journal of Forensic Practice, 8/3/2010