In this section

• What is screening?
• Why screen young people for
  substance misuse?
• Screening Vulnerable Groups
• When should you use the screening tool?
• How should screening happen?
• What is screening trying to establish?
• Outcomes of screening

Outcomes of screening

Once you have completed the screening process you must decide what to do with the information you have:

The screening tool has 4 potential outcomes each with a number of suggested actions (but see also Child Protection):

No Risk : This young person is not currently using drugs or drinking alcohol. Even so, take the opportunity to give them some educational information about drugs and alcohol and the risks.

You Should:

• provide basic educational information

Low Risk : This young person has experimented with alcohol or soft drugs but is not using regularly and is not having any serious problems. They need some good information about the risks and how to avoid developing problems.

You Should:

• provide basic educational information
• provide harm reduction advice or information

Medium Risk : This young person is using fairly regularly, might have experimented with class A drugs, and is having some problems related to their use. As well as making sure they have good information about the risks involved, they need to do some serious thinking about how their drinking or drug use is affecting their life. Their use could easily
start to take over their life or cause big problems. They might want to talk this through with you, or talk confidentially to a substance misuse worker.

You should:

• provide basic educational information
• provide harm reduction advice or information
• consult with SHED re: possible referral - ring 0114 272 9164

High Risk : This young person's use of drugs or alcohol is out of hand and is seriously affecting their life. They are using too much and putting themselves in danger. They need to either stop or seriously cut down and they need to do it now, not tomorrow. You can help them to understand this, and help them get in touch with a substance misuse worker who will provide the help they need.

You should:

• provide basic educational information
• provide harm reduction advice or information
• refer to SHED for Substance Misuse Assessment (0114 272 9164)

Note that the process described above is not intended to be a substitute for good professional judgement. If the screening tool tells you there is no risk, but you still have concerns you should contact SHED and consider making a referral anyway.