CEA-HOW does not have a Teen Program.
At one time CEA-HOW did have a Teen Program, including a meeting format, teen food plan, and teen inventory. However, in April 2007 the CEA-HOW Board of Directors sent this letter to the Fellowship:
“It has been brought to our attention that there are current legal concerns regarding CEA-HOW supporting the formation and fostering of teen meetings in our program. Laws are now in place at the municipal, county, state and federal levels that are very specific in the area of protecting minors from exposure to the possibility of abuse by adults. To conform to these new laws and regulations, Twelve Step programs are requiring adult sponsors of teens to submit to background and fingerprint checks. Unfortunately, CEA-HOW does not currently have the resources for these procedures. It is the Board’s mandate to serve CEA-HOW by safeguarding its Traditions as well as by protecting it legally. Therefore, in view of the potential liability to CEA-HOW it is necessary at this time to discontinue our CEA-HOW teen meetings. If a teen is interested in attending CEA-HOW, he or she can attend meetings if accompanied by a parent or guardian. However, this is not recommended as there is no method established by CEA-HOW for sponsorship of teenagers.
Any CEA-HOW Teen Program literature still in existence should be destroyed. CEA-HOW does not sanction use of any Teen Program literature.