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Upper St. Clair, Pennsylvania
Act 53
This article deals with a Pennsylvania law to help parents with teenage alcohol and drug abusers who are not willing to seek or accept help for their substance abuse problem. Over one hundred parents a year in Allegheny County have taken advantage of ACT 53, including parents from Upper St. Clair. The following is a synopsis of the information from Allegheny County brochures on ACT 53.
Allegheny County has multiple systems in place to offer help and guidance to teens, their families and friends. The health and welfare of children and teens has always been a top priority in Allegheny County. The implementation of ACT 53 in 1998 was a new way to offer help to parents of teens who are struggling with drug and alcohol problems. ACT 53 of 1997 addresses the involuntary commitment of minors into drug and alcohol treatment against their will.
ACT 53 is a groundbreaking law in the state of Pennsylvania. Previous to the enactment of ACT 53 in 1998, there was no method for parents to convince teenagers to receive help for drug and alcohol problems, unless the teens were willing to attend treatment. Only teenagers who had been declared either delinquent or dependent through Juvenile Court could be ordered to receive drug and alcohol treatment against their will. Luckily the legislators in Pennsylvania recognized this gap in our system and offered parents an alternative to delinquency or dependency for their teenagers. ACT 53 has bridged this gap in our systems, and is providing treatment services to many teenagers who would have previously fallen through the proverbial crack.
Each county was assigned the task of setting up its own policy and procedures to implement ACT 53. Allegheny County established a very successful ACT 53 procedure due to an excellent collaboration between Allegheny County Juvenile Court and Allegheny County Department of Human Services - Drug and Alcohol Services Unit. If a parent/legal guardian feels that their child has a drug or alcohol problem, and the child is unwilling to participate in a treatment program, the parents/legal guardian is to contact the County Drug and Alcohol Services Unit. The parental legal guardian must be a resident of Allegheny County and the child must be between the ages of 12 and 18. An adolescent care manager will screen the case for its appropriateness and then guide the parent/legal guardian through the ACT 53 process.
The ACT 53 process takes anywhere from two weeks to four weeks to complete. The parents/legal guardians will be responsible to attend two court hearings. The first one will be to petition the judge to hear their case and the second court hearing will be the presentation of the parents' case and the placement decision for the minor. A drug and alcohol professional before the second hearing will complete a comprehensive assessment. The assessment, the parent's/legal guardian's case, and the child's side of the story will all be presented to the court at the second hearing. The child will be assigned legal representation by the court. The parents/legal guardians are permitted to have legal representation, but the law does not require it. The judge will hear both sides of the case, and the drug and alcohol assessment and recommendation. He/She will render a decision for treatment or not based on the evidence presented to the court.
If the child is found in need of treatment, a court order will be written and arrangements will be made for the child's treatment to begin as soon as possible. The law states that the parent/legal guardian is financially responsible to find funding for this child's treatment, whether it is public or private funds. The court accepts no financial liability or custody for this child.
The success of this program is evident in three unique areas. First, we are able to offer treatment services to teenagers who are unable or unwilling to ask for help. Second, the majority of these teens are headed for the system, becoming either delinquent or dependent. Using the ACT 53 process allows parents and professionals to help these kids before they reach that point. Third, Allegheny County has implemented one of the only successful ACT 53 processes in the state of Pennsylvania. The staffs involved are very committed to the process and the goals with which it was put into place. The parental relief found when they know their children are safe in treatment and the success of the teens themselves reflect why this law was enacted, why it is important, and why we must continue to support its process.
If you would like information concerning the ACT 53 law, policies, or procedures please contact the Allegheny Drug and Alcohol Services Unit at 412.350.3328 or 412.350.2756.