"My life's come to a standstill until I get him some sort of control. I do function but I'm not going anywhere.

End Quote Kane, aged 12

Singh has been working with Kane's parents to help them work on wresting back the control she believes has been ceded to Kane. One of the first things they had to do was draw up a behaviour contract.

Having helped other children with this approach, Singh is realistic about possible outcomes.

Another teacher who has witnessed one of Kane's many classroom incidents says the youngster appears to be extremely defensive when challenged.

As his therapist Amanda Singh calms the situation, Kane's mother, sitting in the living room of the family home, looks on in horror.

But the 12-year-old is not happy with his new regime. "Now my parents have me like locked down. It's like a prison but I'm doing it," he says. "The contract is unfair by stopping me going out altogether and banning some of my friends.

"At first it started with cannabis because I was chilling with me mates. They were older than me and you feel more popular. Cannabis was part of it, meeting up for a smoke."

On one occasion when Kane's mother had been alerted to the fact that he was skipping school, she calmly explained to him that he had broken one of his pledges and was not allowed to use the internet.

"People say I won't stick to it. But I don't think about what those people say, I think more about myself and how it might benefit my family if I stick with it."

Kane's family is just one of a number with similar problems on a UK pilot scheme.

Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

"I can do 15 joints a day if I have it," says Kane.

Continue reading the main story What is Multisystemic Therapy? Offered as an alternative to custody, MST is a home-based treatment for young offenders – therapist assigned to hold sit-down sessions three times a week to discuss issues, solutions and progress Based on nine principles such as focusing on positives and strengths, increasing responsibilities of family members and continued effort Therapist and family sit down to draw up behaviour contract, including regular school attendance and drug testing. Breaches result in punishment like grounding or denial of internet access. Success can be financially rewarded Parents are taught skills, including argument exit strategies and encouraged to improve family life Current UK pilot scheme in Cambridge and London overseen by the Department of Health

"I still have respect and do want to obey my parents but it comes to a point where they don't see it from your point of view," he says.

Continue reading the main story Find out more Listen to the first part of The Trouble with Kane on Monday 14 May at 20:00 BST on Radio 4 or catch up on iPlayer (UK only) via the link

"Working with the family means putting in place closer relationships and this is something that's definitely helped in Kane's home," Amanda concludes.

"I saw the change in him. He stood up straight, looked her [the teacher] right in the eye and that's when he started swearing. It triggered him to change like that. So I think it's just he's very defensive straight away. Very, very defensive."

Kane and his family are in the middle of an intensive therapy session, part of the multisystemic therapy programme (MST) that was offered to Kane and his parents after he was sentenced by the court for anti-social behaviour. He was also found to be frequently smoking cannabis.

"We spend months working intensively with families knowing that this kind of intervention can literally shape lives," she says.

With support from all around him, Kane is hopeful of a better future.

His parents are Bangladeshi and his father works long hours in a restaurant near their London home. His older sister is doing well at school but when Kane started staying out late, smoking cannabis and missing school, the family's life turned upside down.

Kane's mother agrees.

"Kane is involved in some fairly aggressive incidents here and I think most of his anger comes from the fact that he's smoking so much cannabis," says one of his teachers.

MST was developed in the US as an alternative to custody for young, repeat offenders. It revolves around improving parenting, increasing education and training, reducing offending behaviour, and tackling underlying health or mental health problems including substance misuse.

Kane's parents and teachers believe many of his behavioural problems stem from his heavy cannabis use.

"All I know is this is a problem and I need to get some sort of control over it."

"Kane is effectively running things at home, easily dividing his parents, causing their allegiances to shift during arguments, often resulting with the parents turning on each other," Amanda says.

Kane is given the choice of being tested for drugs at home, but if he refuses, he will be penalised.

Although Kane is making progress and smoking less cannabis, his struggles continue.

"It is about changing negative patterns. For at least two years, Dad's main interaction with Kane had involved fruitless attempts to discipline him.

"The contract lays down clear expectations."

Kane has now signed up for the MST programme, which offers family-based interventions for 11 to 16-year-olds to address their problem behaviour.

"We have long been using multisystemic therapy with teenagers, but what sets the work with Kane apart is that MST combines home drug-testing and a system of rewards and penalties aimed at achieving complete abstinence from drugs by the end of treatment."

Being taken into custody or care can be the the end of the road for out-of-control teenagers. But new hope is being offered to some of the UK's most troubled youngsters with a pioneering, intensive family-based therapy programme.

"You get punished constantly for five months – even when you're doing well. The contract is 24/7 so you don't get time off from it even when you're following it."

Kane, raging with anger, hovers over his father, a chair raised high. He appears to have every intention of smashing it down. Kane is a threatening figure. He is also 12 years old.

Singh gets involved in every aspect of the youngster's life, bringing together his family, school and even the families of his friends to try to stop a seemingly inevitable slide towards further criminality and imprisonment.

The violent outbursts are not just confined to the home, as Kane frequently erupts at school.

"I saw him react the other day in class and thought straight away – you're stoned. And it isn't just him, there are a number of pupils where this is a daily part of life from year eight onwards."

Singh teaches Kane's parents to deliver consequences – even under severe provocation – if Kane breaches the contract.

Part one of The Trouble with Kane is on Monday 14 May at 20:00 BST on Radio 4 or catch up on iPlayer (UK only) via the link. Part two follows on Monday 21 May.

"I think this has been good for my family. Things are better at home, less arguments and stuff," he says.

Kane reacted angrily, directing a torrent of abuse and threats at his mother. But she stood firm and Kane was not allowed online.

I think this has been good for my family. Things are better at home, less arguments and stuff”

MST is believed to drastically cut reoffending rates in youngsters

"We aren't looking for parents to change a lot, but small adjustments can bring great benefits," she says.

Photos: Tommy Ton

Throughout the Europe shows, brilliant shades of yellow, ranging from mustard all the way to chartreuse, have been turning up everywhere. In particular, we have noticed a host of street-style stars sporting vibrant yellow accessories. Here, we’ve called out a few Style.com favorites, snapped by Tommy Ton, including the Bottega Veneta python clutch that Anna Dello Russo can’t get enough of these days (pictured, top left).
—Kristin Studeman

He cited the hiring of seven musicians, including incoming concertmaster Yoonshin Song. The orchestra announced this week that the 30-year-old member of the Saint Paul Chamber Ensemble would permanently replace Emmanuelle Boisvert, who left after the strike to become associate concertmaster with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.

Still, in the short-term, “we’re performing, broadcasting, we’re being an orchestra,” he said.

Hogle sees the collaboration with Kid Rock as recognition of how far the orchestra has come, and a fitting example of where it can go.

Follow Jeff Karoub on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffkaroub .

“It’s far more beneficial for an organization if they can develop that into a series,” he said. “It’s a really smart financial move: It shores up their bottom line and supports the core mission activity.”

Hogle said he’s also excited that more than 100,000 people have tuned in to the orchestra’s webcasts this past season. Much closer to home, the orchestra has inaugurated concerts in a half-dozen Detroit-area neighborhoods — drawing a suburban audience largely composed of audience members who haven’t attended a performance in Detroit.

“We still have an enormous amount of work to do,” Hogle said. “But the business of performing and attracting talent here is in fact returning and vibrant.”

Kid Rock, who was born Robert Ritchie and grew up in Macomb County, Mich., is volunteering his services. So are Detroit Symphony Music Director Leonard Slatkin and orchestra members. Proceeds will help pay symphony musicians for community outreach and education efforts.

Several of the recent departures can be traced to the contentious walkout or settlement that left musicians with a roughly 25 percent cut to their salaries. Hogle said the hiring process is restoring the faith across the organization.

“As a musician, and of course a Detroiter, I am proud to be supporting this longstanding cultural institution,” Kid Rock has said of his show with the orchestra. A spokesman for the musician declined to make him available to comment for this story.

“It’s the perfect culmination of what we will look back on as a very successful year,” he said “A year ago, our stage was silent. And today our hall is regularly full. We have an increase in donations. And, we’re performing with Kid Rock.”

The orchestra will collaborate with Kid Rock on Saturday in a benefit concert at the Fox Theatre, down the street from the ensemble’s Orchestra Hall home. Tickets start at $100, though VIP tickets fetch as much as $1,500 and include an after-party with the genre-jumping artist who still lives in suburban Detroit.

Drew McManus, a Chicago-based orchestra management consultant, said he’s glad to see some good signs after so much strife, but he lacks enough information to conclude the Detroit orchestra is succeeding in its turnaround plan.

“Is the organization going to be able to stabilize and look at a new growth pattern? All that hasn’t transpired in the year since the (strike) ended,” McManus said.

The lingering debt came before the labor strife but it’s “certainly become more acute after the strike and we returned to concerts,” said Paul Hogle, the orchestra’s executive vice president. Hogle said as long as the money is owed, the orchestra cannot increase its endowment.

___

One night — even one that rocks and rolls in big money — doesn’t erase bigger, long-term woes for the internationally recognized orchestra. Musicians agreed to major concessions during the six-month strike that ended in April of last year, but that’s only slowed the orchestra’s $2.5 million-to-$3 million annual drain of a roughly $14 million endowment that it draws from to survive. And officials have been mired in a so-far unsuccessful effort to restructure a $54 million bank loan on a real estate deal for the Max M. Fisher Music Center.

DETROIT (AP) — This time last year, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra was about a month removed from a contentious musicians’ strike that worsened its already strained finances. Now, the rebounding organization aims to raise the roof — and hopefully $1 million — with help from a hometown musician known more for rock, rap and country than classical.

He said the upcoming concert featuring Kid Rock backed by the orchestra is “a good thing” and could be a successful one-time event. McManus would like to see it inspire a series of rock-flavored shows, using the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s successful Rockin’ Orchestra Series as a model.

“As a result of the auditions we’ve already had this year, it certainly suggests that Detroit and the music-making legacy here continues to be attractive for candidates,” he said. “That bodes very well for our future.”

The model takes on the luxury brand mogul in a New York City court. 1:32 PM PDT 5/3/2012 by Associated Press

With a fine jewelry collection, a shoe line, and a handful of endorsements under her belt (last night’s was a skinny metallic one), Ivanka Trump has proven herself a capable businesswoman. But judging by the bustling crowd that packed the fifth floor of Lord & Taylor last night (dad Donald and mom Ivana included), she also knows what it takes to fill a room. The occasion: the new mom’s first-ever ready-to-wear collection and runway show, hosted by Lord & Taylor president Bonnie Brooks. Trump, dressed in a bright orange top and white riding pants from her collection, told the front row that her goal was “to create a high-quality product at an affordable price, for the chic, modern, working woman.” What followed was a set of 37 predominantly neutral looks—with the occasional pop of cobalt, pink, and red—to be worn from day to night. There were work-appropriate suits and cocktail dresses, weekend-ready embroidered tunics, and tailored shorts paired with fedoras and straw wedges also of Trump’s design. Also shown were a variety of trenchcoats, some with eyelet detailing, bright coral wrap dresses, and paisley separates that are likely to appeal to an older customer. Ready-to-wear can be daunting, but Brooks proudly revealed that her new designer should have no reason to fear. She said that the line, which hovers in the $50 to $225 price range and is already on the sales floor (the collection launched exclusively at Lord & Taylor and is currently available at other retailers, including Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Ivanka’s own online boutique), has been selling briskly. Brooks also reported that Ivanka is “the number one designer search on Lordandtaylor.com.” Those are the kind of credentials—plus, of course, regular TV appearances on Dad’s program for a little message-spreading—that demand future ventures. After the show, Trump hinted at upcoming forays into fragrance, eyewear, and perhaps a children’s clothing line.
—Jessica Minkoff

Photo: Slaven Vlasic / Getty Images

Photo: Courtesy of 3.1 Phillip Lim

2010 may go down in fashion history as the year we reclaimed our gym clothes. Designers embraced the mélange sweatshirt, which almost immediately became the piece to have. In Europe, Dries Van Noten kicked off the trend with his elegantly urbane Fall ‘10 show. So did Isabel Marant, a longtime sweatshirt enthusiast, who gussied hers up with disco sparkle. In New York, the Marc Jacobs opened with a sleeveless sweatshirt on his then-new discovery Tati Cotliar, and Alexander Wang sent out plenty of big-shouldered versions at his football-themed Fall show.

Since then, the fever has raged on. While girls on a budget have discovered that The Gap makes a pretty serviceable version, big spenders went wild for Bally’s three-figure version, one of the new ideas from the label’s new designers, Graeme Fidler and Michael Herz, who showed them for Spring. And just yesterday, in his pre-fall collection, Phillip Lim debuted his own new take (left)—one that was inspired by the slouchy sweats his assistants were wearing to the office. His model comes embellished with crystals for a piece that’ll play anywhere. “Smart move,” wrote Nicole Phelps. With its new glamour, it’s as ready for the office as the after-party—and officially emancipated from the gym.

100% cotton.

I found this version available for pre-order on FredFare.com designed by BB Dakota, one of our favorite designers. It comes in both black and white, and the look is favored by celebs like Beyonce and Rihanna, who have recently donned Balmain’s version. Their choices are fierce and also priced at about $6,000-$11,000.

Black or white.

Hook & eye closures.

Available in XS thru LG.

$80 PREORDER NOW

PRODUCT DETAILS

A throwback to the Beatles’ Sergeant Pepper look, this style of jacket is back in a huge way!

The style is so hot right now that I’m thinking of ordering one or two from FredFlare.com. But, be afraid when the almighty bustier makes a return. I for one will actually sit out on that one since I’ve already been there and done that. Just watch all the young’un’s frantically lace up and try the old hook and eye!

Purchase information: Buy it here.

Buy it here.

PRODUCT DETAILS
- High-rise waist
- Elastic waistband
- All-over horizontal piping
- Formfitting. Measures 17.5″ from waist to hem.
- Material: Rayon, nylon, spandex
- Imported

What’s not to love?

By Sasha Charnin Morrison for UsMagazine.com. To read more of the Recessionista blog, click here.

I was floored when I saw these skirts in the BCBG store recently. I love the look of Herve Leger, and everyone and their mom in Hollywood wears the dresses that Max Azria produces. You know, sexy, bright and colorful bandage dresses as seen on Nicole Richie and Catherine Zeta Jones, just to name a few?

Well, both brands are owned by the same guy and this skirt, which I’ve seen on Rihanna, is available for much less! The Textured Power Skirt — sized extra-small to large — is only $138 compared to $600 and up. Plus, the material is very similar and it’s sized a bit more generously.

This morning, Jil Sander announced that its longtime creative director, Belgian designer Raf Simons, will leave his post, effective February 27th. (He will show his Fall ‘12 Jil Sander collection in Milan on Saturday the 25th.) The announcement comes after several months of speculation that the designer was being courted for other positions: First at Yves Saint Laurent, spurred by an insinuation in the International Herald Tribune in September, and then at Dior, for the role vacated by John Galliano and currently held by Bill Gaytten. (PPR, YSL’s owner, called the rumors “unfounded”; Dior has not commented.) Simons has not yet announced a new position; executives at Jil Sander said in a statement that his replacement at the label will be announced within the next few days.

Photo: Courtesy Photo

The agency announced new rules Friday for the J-1 Summer Work and Travel Program, which brings more than 100,000 foreign college students to the U.S. each year.

JACKSON, Miss. – The U.S. State Department says it is making major changes to its premier student-exchange program following an investigation by The Associated Press that found widespread abuses.

Officials say the new rules limit the hours and jobs participants can work and make clear the program is about fostering cultural understanding.

The AP investigation found some participants working in strip clubs, not always willingly, while others were put in living and working conditions they compared to indentured servitude.