Here's possibly one of the earliest mentions of it, judging from a quick rummage through Google's News Archives:
Caption for an accompanying pic:
Parents and teens pitch in to prepare Post Avenue School in Winter Haven for the foster care drug-treatment program.Mike Leschisin/The Ledger[/list]
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The Lakeland LedgerTuesday, September 9, 1986Turnaround plans foster care to help kids fight drugsBy Richard Burnett · The LedgerWINTER HAVEN — with a Sarasota-based organization now serving as a consultant, some local parents and young people are gearing up efforts to establish project Turnaround, a foster care drug-treatment program for Polk County youth.
Officials of Turnaround Inc. last week retained the services of LIFE (Life Is For Everyone) of Sarasota to help them with the structure, training and other details of setting up a drug rehabilitation program for young people ages 12 to 22.
Meanwhile, a number of parents and young people have been working on weekends to get the Turnaround building in shape. The Polk County School Board is leasing the old Post Avenue School in Winter Haven to Turnaround for $1 a year, according to Bernadine Spanjers, acting executive director of Turnaround.
Spanjers is also a board member of the parent drug education/referral group PRIDE, which has been vitally involved with founding Turnaround Inc.
"We need a lot of donations to make this program a reality," Spanjers said. "We do need money, but we also need materials for the building and skilled volunteer help for wiring and other work."
Meanwhile, parents and young people have been cleaning up the building, clearing off grounds and doing other basic work to get the site ready for development.
Organization officials said they hope to get the building and the program ready within a year at the latest.
"There is a lot of work to do, but I think it is possible to have it ready in six to eight months," said Frank Savoie, a Turnaround board member, facilities chairman and local businessman. "Getting air conditioning for this building is going to be the biggest thing."
"We don't have a definite target date, but if we really move on it, I think we can open it within eight months," said Rubie Wilcox, a Turnaround board member and Polk County School Board member. "I really believe the community is going to come through for it."
Aside from the building expenses, Turnaround's bill to LIFE for consultant services also represents a hefty sum. Spanjers said their monthly payment to LIFE is $2,000. By the time project Turnaround opens its doors, consultant costs will total $40,000, with $18,000 more due after the program begins, she said.
It's a lot of money, but we feel it will be well worth the cost," said Spanjers. "This has been a dream of ours for a long time. There are a number of excellent drug rehab programs for adolescents in Polk County, but because of the 'crack' problem here, they are bulging at the seams. Our program will be modeled on the LIFE foster care concept, which adds a whole new component to drug rehabilitation."
Spanjers said a number of Polk County young people and their families have traveled to Sarasota to be in the LIFE rehab program, which involves a combination of counseling, family-child co-participation and foster home care. In the Sarasota concept, families who are going through the program with their children act as foster families for young people new to the program, according to Spanjers.
Polk and other non-Sarasota County residents pay about $4,000 for the LIFE program, according to Turnaround officials. But this figure varies on a sliding scale according to income, officials said.
The Turnaround program here would cost about half as much for Polk residents, according to Bob Bagby, a Turnaround board member and president of PRIDE.
"It is just an excellent approach," said acting executive director Spanjers.
Wilcox said that most adolescent drug treatment programs in Polk County have waiting lists, which make it difficult to deal with the increasing demand.
"At this point, it is very hard for us to give immediate help to a young person who is in a drug crisis situation," she said. "With this program, we'll be able to do it."
Anyone interested in making a contribution of money, time or materials to project Turnaround can call 294-1853.
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