TEENAGERS causing misery to their families and communities with their out of control behaviour are turning their lives around thanks to a pioneering project.

TEENAGERS causing misery to their families and communities with their out of control behaviour are turning their lives around thanks to a pioneering project.

Reoffending rates have been slashed among 14 to 18-year-olds who have been referred to the award-winning scheme launched two years ago.

Many had fallen into cycles of violence, vandalism and substance abuse when they were referred to the Intensive Support and Monitoring Service in Kirkintilloch instead of being locked up.

Of the 15 teenagers who have come through the ISMS, the majority have dramatically reduced their offending rates and most have gone on to start training or college courses.

Launched in 2005, it was initially envisaged as a two-year pilot project. But the ISMS has proved so successful its funding has now been extended by the Scottish Executive and staff hope it will continue beyond 2008.

The cost of providing a place at ISMs is around £1200 a week per person, less than half the cost of a place within a secure unit - around £3000.

One of only seven in Scotland, the Kirkintilloch project has just picked up a Care Accolade at a national awards ceremony run by the Scottish Executive.

A Scottish Executive spokesman said: "The award is recognition of the council's partnership working with other agencies to work with the most high risk young people in their community."

The scheme aims to monitor young people so that risk to the community is reduced.

But they also receive intensive rehabilitation which includes formal education, counselling and sport.

The ISMS coordinator Sheila Gordon, left, said: "When they come here they are at the stage where they have come to the attention of the welfare and justice systems.

"Some of the young people will have complex emotional and behavioural problems which have meant they are no longer attending mainstream schools.

"We try to challenge and change their behaviour."

"The ISMS is a small project that has made a big impact. We are seeing how successful the scheme is every day. You just have to look at the young people and see the changes in them."

The ISMS is staffed by Sheila, a community resources worker, two teachers, and a teaching auxiliary, all employed by East Dunbartonshire's social work department.

Together the team help individuals by re-engaging them in education, addressing their drink and drug problems and working with their families to restore tarnished relationships.

Not all of the teenagers have already slipped into a life of crime. Some suffer from emotional or behavioural problems which make them vulnerable to exploitation.

They can be referred by social work or by the criminal justice system.

Staff work with the youths to try to change their behaviour patterns and support them through their problems.

Teenagers attend the ISMS centre five-days a week where they are taught conventional subjects like English and Maths as well as vocational skills like cooking, woodwork and gardening. They also go to the gym twice-a-week.

Although they don't stay in the centre or spend weekends there, the young people are still supervised 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Another team of staff take over responsibility after hours and deal with problems such as breaching a curfew.

Some of the teenagers are electronically tagged.

Sheila said: "Tagging is one option. A few of the young people who have come through the ISMS have been on tags.

"It's a way of restricting someone's movement. We had one young man who was drinking 120 units a week, three bottles of Buckfast a day. He was facing serious assault charges.

"He was on a tag for several months. That meant he was going home at night for the first time instead of staying out all night.

"Sometimes he was going home drunk, so that brought up new issues because he was going home to his family and they were having to deal with him drunk and behaving aggressively.

"So we worked with his family too, helped him tackle his drinking and later on got him on a work placement. He is really seeing life differently now."

Project lets troubled teens turn lives around

Alan swapped gang fighting for gardening ALAN'S life used to be all about Buckfast and gang fighting. Already facing numerous assault and petty theft charges by the time he was 15, his behaviour was spiralling out of control and his family feared he was heading for jail. Six months ago he started attending the ISMS project and his life began to change. Alan, now 16, said: "I used to be out gang fighting in Kirkintilloch all the time. I was drinking a lot - Mad Dog and Buckfast. "I had about a dozen charges, some for assault and some for theft. "I was on a curfew. I had to be in by 7pm every night. "When I came here, I built the decking outside and started getting into that. "Now I'm getting there. I've cut down my drinking. I'm not getting into fights anymore." By controlling his drinking Alan has stopped his cycle of reoffending - and has not been in trouble since starting the ISMS. Last month he sat six Standard Grades and he's setting his sights on a bright future. While awaiting his exam results, Alan is working part-time for a landscape gardening firm and considering doing a full-time college course. ISMS coordinator Sheila Gordon said: "When Alan started working on the decking he found something he really enjoyed. "You could see him changing physically and mentally. He started smiling for the first time." Alan's name has been changed to protect his identity.

Service helped Caroline to focus on learning CAROLINE was caught up in a downward spiral when she arrived at the ISMS. Like many teenagers who are referred to the service, her school teachers could no longer cope with her, nor she with them. Caroline, 14, said: "I was dogging school a lot at the time and running away from home. I was suspended when I started coming to the ISMS in January. "It's different here. At school all the teachers ever do is shout at you. It is quite intense here because everyone knows you and there are always people around talking to you and that can be quite annoying. "But I like it here. Maths and Biology are the main subjects I'm into. We spend a lot of time cooking things. I like making omelettes." When Caroline first arrived, the first thing the team noticed was how bright she was. The smaller less formal environment they provide helped her find a way to focus academically. Caroline is now back at school part-time and preparing for prelims this November. She is sitting a total of eight Standard Grades next year. Sinclair Laird, a former social worker who now teaches maths and woodwork at the ISMS, said: "We don't have the resources to teach everything here so some of the pupils will still attend school part-time. "The majority of the kids who come here have been suspended or excluded from mainstream schooling. They have fallen through the system and it's important they are given this opportunity. "It's a challenging job but I love it. I think we can make a difference because if I start teaching and one of them isn't happy I can see something's up. I'll stop what I'm doing and I'll say: Is something worrying you? Do you want to talk about it?' "We can talk it through. A teacher doesn't need or want to know what their backgrounds are, but I do." Caroline's name has been changed to protect her identity.