BEFORE THE MAST

This will be a busy week for 20,000 children going back to school in
Moore. One class will fill a little more slowly -- but surely.

The Moore Alternative School and Treatment (MAST) program is for
Moore teenagers experiencing problems with drug and alcohol abuse.
MAST provides education and counseling services to get kids back on
the right track in school and in life. The program is an outgrowth
of Moore Youth & Family Services, Inc. and the Moore Alcohol & Drug
Center, Inc., both operating from a building on Northwest 5th Street.

Problems prevalent

"We start out pretty slow, but our classes soon pick up when kids
turn up in drug busts, under the influence in school or get
suspended for dealing," says Lisa Williams. The program's two
classrooms can accommodate 16 students, all closely watched,
counseled and tutored for a minimum of nine weeks.

Alcohol and drug problems are prevalent in the schools says
Williams, clinical director of the nonprofit juvenile treatment
program. Youth suspended from school or at risk of being suspended
are prime candidates for the MAST program. The only "prerequisite":
desire to change. Schoolkids ages 13 to 17 must have a
substance abuse problem and be willing to work on it.

"There are other alternative schools but ours has the only treatment
program," Williams said. "Our emphasis is on cognitive therapy and
behavior modification. Academics comes second."

MAST was established in Moore in 1975, well before other state
funded alternative education programs were initiated in the '90s,
Williams said. The MAST program is funded by the Oklahoma Department
of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, the Office of Juvenile Affairs
and the United Way. In recent years, MAST resources have been
stretched thin by state budget cuts.

Substance abuse grows

Many Moore public school students are unaware of the MAST program,
Williams said. She said she coordinates with school principals and
counselors to inform parents and students of the service.

Williams said drug abuse in the schools has widened in scope to
include both illicit drugs and prescription medicine. "What I've
seen the most is problems with methamphetamine, Valium and pain
drugs like Oxycontin and Lortabs. Sometimes it's real easy to get
drugs over the Internet... but alcohol is still the most abused substance."

Getting into the MAST program begins and ends with a phone call. "A
parent or kid can call and say they're interested," Williams said.
Young candidates answer a few questions over the phone and then
undergo an hour-long face-to-face assessment involving family
background, substance abuse problems and medical and educational history.

"Every kid admitted to the program signs a contract" involving
respect for others, behavior standards in class and abstinence from
drugs and alcohol, Williams said. "Then we set up individual and family goals.

"A kid is given a day to think about it, then calls with a decision."

Family often problem

What follows is a minimum of nine weeks of classroom instruction,
individual and group counseling, conferences with parents and, less
frequently, family counseling.

"Our biggest problem is getting the family engaged in the
treatment," Williams said.

"Most of the time, our students have a family history of substance
abuse. These are very bright kids, for the most part. A majority of
them have had a lot of hardships. We're talking about kids who have
had a whole lot stacked against them, especially it
they're involved in the court system."

Typically, students complete an average of two semesters with MAST,
learning to stay focused on schoolwork. They are taught by a
certified teacher aided by three other MAST staff. "If they finish
one assignment, they go on to the next," Williams said. "They're
watched constantly and supervised closely." The scrutiny includes
random urinalysis for drugs.

Lessons from mistakes

Williams said 94 percent of MAST students successfully complete the
program and 96 percent remain drug-free. There have been slip-ups in
the program's long history, but only two of them have involved
drugs, she said.

"Years ago, a policeman with a drug dog came in to do
a demonstration for the class," Williams said. "The dog made a drug
hit on one young man [in the class]." The officer was outside his
jurisdiction, so Moore police were called."

"The kid waited in our office for the police to come. He sat there
crying. The officer and the Moore police were very supportive. They
understood the kid was not a criminal. He went into a residential
treatment program."

Later, Williams said, "the young man came back to visit us. He had
finished school and started working. To me, he was a real success."

Among other success stories, a 16-year-old girl who had failed the
ninth grade three times and "had no family support" received her GED
through MAST went on to manage a grocery store and receive a college
degree in criminal justice, Williams said.

And a boy involved in gangs and drugs and on probation became the
only one in his family to finish school. "His mother had been
murdered and his dad and brothers were in prison. For the past six
years he's been a foreman for a roofing company."

MAST not for everyone

Williams admits some students find it impossible to continue with the program.

"These kids are used to failing and being kicked out," she said. "We
open the door for them and help them find another place. We're
tough, but fair. We want them to succeed."

Others choose to complete their entire high school education in
MAST, Williams said. "Some kids get their GEDs. If you're 17 and in
the ninth grade, it's unrealistic to think of graduating from high school."

Williams has been with the MAST program for 26 years, but does not
hold the seniority record. Walt Hedrick, the director, has been with
the program since its beginnings over 30 years ago.

When she began with the program, Williams said, "We had a place on
First Street. It looked like a barn. It was a barn." The agencies
moved to the present location in 1990.

Williams has a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma
School of Social Work and is a licensed marriage and family
therapist. She is working toward state licensure as an alcohol and
drug counselor, a new state certification. "To get a state license
requires a minimum of eight years," she said.

Funding sources shrink

The MAST center has a staff of about 25, with several serving the
program for 20 years or more. Most of the staff are either licensed
or under state supervision for licensure in social work, marriage
and family therapy and alcohol and drug counseling. There also
are five college interns from OU, OSU and Southern Methodist University.

MAST has been struggling through a series of budget cuts and funding
freezes, Williams said. "The department of mental health and
substance abuse cut $10,000 from our budget this year. Despite
rising costs, we've had no increase from the Office of Juvenile
Affairs for 10 years. For the past three years, we've had a freeze
on staff cost of living raises…Because of the cuts, we have no
formal follow-up after the kids leave the program.

"Mental health is not highly valued in this state."

Still, the MAST program continues to equip youth with the skills to
handle life. "These kids are survivors," Williams said. They have to
be ready to make changes. That takes courage and guts.

"If they stay alive, out of the prison system and are productive, to
me that's success."