The Village Family Service Center in Fargo, North Dakota is launching an Intensive Outpatient Program for teen substance use, the first such program in the Fargo-Moorhead area in several years. The program serves teens aged 14 to 17 and was established in response to a significant need for adolescent substance use treatment in the community. Tonya Sorenson, Clinical Supervisor of the First Step Recovery Program, explained that “Adolescents program differently than adults. Their brains are still developing, and they have different needs where they’re at in life, so it was really important to have a program that was specific just for teens to be able to address their substance use.”
Teens in the program participate in group sessions focusing on prevention, education, and self-reflection. Families are invited to work alongside teens with materials both in the program and at home. The program has been running for the past few weeks and recently received a Health Innovation Grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Caring Foundation. Amber Blomberg, Executive Director of the Caring Foundation for BCBSND, stated that “When the Village brought forth this idea of launching this adolescent intensive outpatient program, we just thought it was a really great opportunity.”
Currently, the program has a maximum capacity of twelve teens, though more have requested to be part of it. The launch represents a significant expansion of behavioral health services in the region, addressing a gap in specialized adolescent addiction treatment.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.kvrr.com/2026/03/12/first-ever-teen-addiction-recovery-program-launches-in-north-dakota/