Language & Prevention: Methods and Results of the Prevention Definitions Project
Alex Camacho, PhD, CHES, CADC, CPP
Core Area: Emerging Trends/Issues
Over the past decade, the language used to discuss prevention-related work has changed significantly. Whether changes have been catalyzed by cultural, political, or economical factors is arguable; however, these changes have impacted how we collect data and how we frame our work. Recently, CSAP grantees have discussed significant variations in the definitions of common terms such as program , cultural competence and sustainability all of which impact data collection efforts. As part of SAMHSA’s strategic initiative to improve data quality, CSAP implemented the Prevention Definitions Project (PDP) a multistage, mixed-methods project that provided a mechanism for generating consensus among stakeholders about the definition of 34 commonly used terms in prevention. Through the PDP, CSAP has taken a significant step toward improving its data quality and, in turn, these efforts will improve how CSAP disseminates information about national efforts to prevent the onset of substance abuse and mental illness among Americans.
The Winners Sankofa Project: The Culture-Based ATOD Intervention of Avalon Carver Community Center
Darnell Bell, MA Educ
Core Area: Culturally Relevant Prevention
Culture and cultural worldview are the foundation of all program models, interventions and curriculum. Consequently, all program models, interventions and curricula used in prevention whether acknowledged or not as being so are culture based. Unfortunately, the program models and curricula that we are being forced to select from for our communities do not reflect our perspectives, experiences, and our interests. Dr. Wade Nobles, in his The Culture of Drugs in the Black Community states that we can’t use the theories, models, or interpretations of anyone else to even correct the problems that we experience&that are in fact, problems that other folk experience. We can’t grab some other person’s notion of what works and apply it to the African American community. We must build programs upon something that reflects our own base, models that have integrity, that have not been contaminated. The workshop is designed to introduce its audience to an intervention the Winners Sankofa Intervention- designed specifically for African-American youth.
Actively Building Community-Researcher Partnerships: Promoting Researcher & Community Collaborations
Evelyn Yang, PhD and Jane Callahan, MEd
Core Area: Practice to Research/Innovative Approaches
States, communities and researchers are committed to substance abuse prevention but often have different priorities and work in drastically different environments. CADCA, a national organization serving substance abuse coalitions, developed a solution to bridge this research/community divide. CADCA’s Community-Researcher Partnership Project (CRPP), funded by NHTSA and NIAAA, is a ground-breaking project to facilitate researcher and coalition partnerships, surface shared research questions, and facilitate the development of research proposals. This project has created opportunities for communities and researchers to jointly study the efficacy of homegrown interventions and expand the utility of existing evidence-based interventions. To date, three proposals have been submitted. One success is a research proposal studying the efficacy of social host ordinances at reducing underage drinking. Presenters will describe CRPP, how coalitions and researchers have benefited from their involvement, and implications for improving the community and cultural relevance, adoption and implementation of evidence based strategies for substance abuse prevention.
Recent National Trends in Substance Abuse Measures and Implications for Prevention Policy
Beverlie Fallik, PhD and Nilufer Isvan, PhD
Core Area: Emerging Trends/Issues
CSAP’s annual trend report reviews data from major national surveys and archival data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to identify national trends and emerging issues related to substance abuse. Identified trends and issues are discussed within the context of prevention programs and policies. This session will provide an overview of the findings from this year’s report with special focus on their relevance to program providers, state and local prevention practitioners, and federal policy makers.
Ten years of Successful Latino Youth Prevention Programming in Georgia
Pierluigi Mancini, PhD, NCAC II
Core Area: Culturally Relevant Prevention
CETPA’s Latino Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Program’s mission is to reach Latino boys and Latina girls and their families, involve them in healthy activities after school and during the summer, and provide them with linguistic and culturally appropriate prevention programming in order to enhance resiliency, decision-making, and assertiveness skills to prevent drug use and participation in other high risk behaviors. The program is delivered in English and in Spanish by bilingual bicultural prevention specialists. The Program encourages cultural pride by emphasizing the strengths inherent in the Latino culture and addresses belonging and adaptation, teaches assertiveness and decision-making skills, and provides tips on becoming healthy and successful young adults. During the 2009-2010 school year, CETPA provided after school services to over 160 Latina girls and over 70 Latino boys in three school settings and one community setting in two separate counties in the state of Georgia. The after school program succeeded in involving at risk youth and their parents or primary caregivers in after school activities. We successfully met the program outcomes delineated in the program logic model. Evaluation results demonstrate that Latino youth, participating in our program, strengthened their anti-drug-use attitudes and norms; reduced risk; increased developmental assets and reported a 100% abstinence measure at the end of the program. CETPA’s participants not only complete the prescribed program curriculum, dancing and soccer - but also perform numerous community service and outreach activities. In the past these have included making and delivering blankets to the homeless; planting flower beds at their schools; developing anti-drug messages to share with other Latino youth; participation in the annual Red Ribbon Week Campaign; and making and shipping care packages for our soldiers abroad.
Student Assistance in the 21st Century
Rodger Dinwiddie, MEd and Mohamed Kanu, PhD
Core Area: Research to Practice/Prevention Science and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)
STARS Student Assistance Program (SAP) provides educational strategies and support to youth in grades 5-12 to change inappropriate behavior by reducing factors that put them at risk for using tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, or violence. The SAP builds on the positive factors that promote resiliency utilizing developmentally and culturally appropriate materials, learning strategies and processes, and the concept of positive peer pressure that provides an opportunity for each student to make a commitment not to use tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs and to respond to conflict without any form of violence. The approach encompasses both prevention and intervention and fosters positive relationships between students, teachers, counselors and other caring adults. Evaluation data indicate that the program has reduced suspensions, improved attendance, improved grades, and prevented dropping out of school. STARS has demonstrated success among Hispanic and Asian ethnic groups and is most effective with Caucasian and African American populations.
Cultural Competence in Practice: New Strategies for Assessment and Capacity Building
Miranda March, PhD, Christina Borbely, PhD, and Madalynn Rucker, MA
Core Area: Culturally Relevant Prevention
This session reports preliminary findings from a statewide effort funded by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (CA ADP) to increase the capacity of the substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery fields to adopt and implement a core set of culturally and linguistically competent service strategies. In 2001, The Office of Minority Health formally adopted a set of 14 Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Strategies (CLAS) standards for implementation in the healthcare field. California is in the process of applying these CLAS Standards to the substance abuse field through a statewide technical assistance and training initiative. This session will report on the results from a baseline assessment of substance prevention and/or treatment agencies current capacity to adopt and implement these standards, discuss key findings from implementation, identify recommendations for increasing field capacity, and propose considerations for customizing the CLAS standards for the substance abuse field.
Evaluating Community-Level Prevention Efforts: Methods and Findings from the DFC National Evaluation
Allan Porowski, J. Fred Springer, PhD, and Shannon Weatherly
Core Area: Research to Practice/Prevention Science and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)
This presentation summarizes methods and recent findings from the Drug Free Communities (DFC) National Evaluation. Administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the DFC program supports community coalitions that constitute a critical part of the Nation s drug prevention infrastructure. DFC grantees provide core measures data every two years for the national evaluation, and regularly submit detailed process data on context, infrastructure, strategies, and implementation of activities. More than 700 coalitions are represented in the full DFC database. The presentation highlights findings from core outcome data, the logic model, and measurement models that guide cross-site data collection and analysis, as well as the detailed process data that will be used to produce evidence-based lessons for coalition practice. Presenters will share lessons learned in conducting community-level research and key considerations in the analysis of community level data.
Leadership and Sustainability
Jere Thomas, LCSW
Core Area: Sustainability/Building Diverse Partnerships, Systems, and Policies
Long-term, successful and sustainable prevention work in communities depends on a number of factors, including competent and flexible leadership. Yet, focused leadership development is rarely included in TA services offered to prevention specialists. In January 2009 the Regional Prevention Services division of OMNI Institute began researching and developing a leadership component to its TA services. Considering the unique role of prevention leaders in their communities, the RPS adopted a definition of leadership befitting the collaborative nature of the work, "A process of motivating people to work together collaboratively to accomplish great things (Vroom & Jago, 2007, p. 18)". Using this definition and a foundation in the Contingency Approach to leadership, the RPS has developed a comprehensive curriculum to support prevention leaders in cultivating their own leadership. This highly interactive workshop includes an overview of theory and research on effective leadership, discusses curriculum design for leadership development and provides opportunities for participants to explore their own leadership.
Cross-Site Evaluation Findings from the Young Adults Initiative
Laurie Cluff, Deborah Galvin, PhD, and Georgia Karuntzos, PhD
Core Area: Research to Practice/Prevention Science and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)
We will present the main findings from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-supported Young Adults in the Workplace (YIW) substance abuse prevention initiative. Prevention for young adults in the workplace is particularly important because the 16-24 years age period is a formative time of substance use onset and abuse and large percentages of this population can be found in the workplace (about 70% work part-time or full-time.) The YIW cross-site evaluation has documented efforts related to adapting six prevention programs for young adults and specific workplace settings that provides valuable information to researchers and practitioners. The cross-site evaluation includes process, outcome and cost studies. We will describe the technique we used to analyze the intervention effects from 6 distinct programs. We will also present findings about the effects of intervention program components on substance use, psychological well-being, and workplace-related outcomes.
Preventing Alcohol-Exposed Pregnancies Among Young Women: Integration of CHOICES in Substance Abuse
Sharon Pollack, MPH, Dora Ramirez, LCDC, CPS, MA, and Janet Caiazzo, MPA
Core Area: Selective and/or Indicated Populations/Communities in Transition
The FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorders) Center for Excellence, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), funds programs to integrate Project CHOICES among women of reproductive age in treatment for alcohol abuse and mental health across the country. Goals are to achieve abstinence from alcohol and effective contraception. This panel presentation will describe integration and implementation of CHOICES within SCAN (Serving Children and Adolescents in Need), an agency serving primarily Hispanic adolescent and young adult women in Laredo, Texas, and San Diego Youth Services, which helps youth who are homeless or in crisis. Using the spirit, components, and skills of motivational interviewing, CHOICES is tailored to client readiness to change alcohol use and contraceptive behaviors. Process and outcomes from SCAN and San Diego and aggregate data from all six CHOICES subcontractors will be highlighted. Included will be discussion of challenges and successes in translating CHOICES from research into practice.
Working with Reentry and Recovery to Accomplish Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Prevention
Christopher Kokoski, CPS and Ted Strader, MS, CPS
Core Area: Selective and/or Indicated Populations/Communities in Transition
This 90 minute, highly interactive workshop will examine best practices for working with re-entry and recovery populations to accomplish primary, secondary and tertiary prevention outcomes. Strategies covered include creating an environment of acceptance and respect, providing an evidence-based family-strengthening program that demonstrates practical and relevant value and a deep and multifaceted understanding, awareness and application of cultural sensitivity. Included in the presentation will be preliminary outcomes, including a 78% voluntary HIV testing rate and a 60% reduction in prison recidivism. COPES employs a pre, post and follow up survey design with comparison groups. Participants will be invited to engage in facilitator-led group discussions and brief interactive demonstrations to learn not only the theoretical foundations of working effectively with high-risk populations, but specific and culturally competent action steps to take back to their home communities.
Strategic Prevention Framework: Impacts and Lessons Learned from Three State-wide Initiatives
Christina Borbely, PhD, Rodney Wambeam, PhD, and Roy Gabriel, PhD
Core Area: Critical Federal Guidelines and Initiatives/A Focus on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
This symposium reports the impacts associated with three state-wide implementations of the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). SPF entails a five-step process to prevention planning, implementation and evaluation that promotes youth development, reduces risk-taking behaviors, builds assets and resilience, and prevents problem behaviors across the life span (SAMHSA 2010). Evaluation studies of the initiatives in California, Washington, and Wyoming are presented. In addition to unique prevention outcomes from each study, there is an opportunity to consider variations in SPF-SIG (Washington and Wyoming) and non-federally funded (California) examples of implementation. The extent to which SPF implementation is associated with increased community capacity and local or state level prevention impacts will be examined in three presentations. In addition to specific commentary on the implementation findings, there will be synthesis of the broad level implications of SPF to the field. Facilitated discussion will explore the implications for advancing prevention practices at national, state, and local levels.
Fresh Approaches to Reaching Teens with Drug and Alcohol Prevention Messages: How You Can Utilize A
Gem Benoza
Core Area: Culturally Relevant Prevention
Each year, a new group of teens are directly exposed to drugs and alcohol and the pressures to use. Today’s teens are living in a very different world than the one most drug prevention staff grew up in. This interactive workshop will allow participants to delve into the mindset of teens by learning about the latest research, tools and techniques being used by advertisers and marketers. You ll gain a better understanding of the growing numbers of teens as you take a detailed look at the latest teen trends, attitudes and motivations. Explore effective ways you can adapt and apply these techniques to your youth strategies.
Indiana University's Cross-Disciplinary Approach to Addressing Collegiate Alcohol and Drug Issues
Mallori DeSalle, MA, NCC, CPP and Walt Keller, PhD
Core Area: Sustainability/Building Diverse Partnerships, Systems, and Policies
It’s no secret that binge drinking is a major concern at higher learning institutions. Indiana University, through the Office of Alternative Screening and Intervention Services (OASIS) and the Alcohol-Drug Information Center (ADIC) is taking a multiple disciplinary approach to addressing this concern. As a result of the vast efforts to include a wide spectrum of interests related to substance abuse, OASIS & ADIC have been able to strengthen the prevention strategies available to each Indiana University-Bloomington student. In doing so, this university-community effort has led to a highly cost-effective method of sustaining programs with few full time staff members. In this session participants will gain a better understanding of what current prevention efforts are being engaged in at Indiana University-Bloomington and how these on-campus collaborations may be applicable on other campuses. Participants will gain understanding of potential sustainability techniques and low-cost methods that have shown success at Indiana University-Bloomington.
Disseminating Evidence-Based Practice in Communities: Lessons Learned from Three States
Pamela Imm, PhD, Barry Donovan, PhD, and Valerie Morgan, CPSS
Core Area: Critical Federal Guidelines and Initiatives/A Focus on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
This session will highlight the similarities and differences among three states in how they organize their alcohol and drug abuse services to promote evidence-based programs and practice. Presenters in South Carolina and New York will discuss their work as being cohort 4 SPF-SIG states and the requirement to develop an evidence-based practice workgroup. The development and utilization of the work groups will be discussed including their final products for how to recognize and disseminate the use of evidence-based practice specifically in the areas of prevention including underage drinking. Presenters from New Hampshire (cohort 1 SPF-SIG) will discuss their proactive work in developing an evidence-based workgroup which expands the scope of prevention to include the continuum of services including early identification and recovery support. The presenters will focus how their workgroups promote quality prevention services while facilitating ongoing collaboration, joint planning among agencies, sustainability, and lasting infrastructure change.
STRATEGIC PREVENTION FRAMEWORK: SELECTION OF STRATEGY TYPES FOR PRODUCING COMMUNITY OUTCOMES
Frank Winn, PhD and Kelly Vander Ley, PhD
Core Area: Critical Federal Guidelines and Initiatives/A Focus on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
SAMHSA/CSAP has funded 5 Cohorts of Strategic Prevention Framework State Initiative Grants (SPF SIG) including 77 states, territories and tribes/tribal organizations which have funded over 600 subrecipients. Using the 5-step SPF process, communities select strategies that match local needs and resources for the purpose of achieving targeted community-level outcomes. This paper aims to identify key community characteristics that influence the selection of strategy types. Analyses included data from 124 communities, among 10 Cohort 3 grantees. Bivariate correlations revealed that SPF SIG communities with no coalition involvement, six or more barriers, and strategic plans that addressed cultural competencies implemented a higher percentage of direct service strategies, whereas SPF SIG communities also receiving Drug Free Community funds and using more data sources for planning purposes implemented a higher percentage of indirect service strategies. The influence of strategy selection on achieved outcomes will be discussed for subrecipients submitting post implementation community-level outcome estimates.
Club XTreme: How an Afterschool Program can Excel! Exemplify! Exceed! and be Fun at the Same Time
Gregg Raduka, PhD, LPC, CPP, Ester Lopez, BA, and Kay Manning, LCSW, MAC
Core Area: Research to Practice/Prevention Science and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)
Two "Club XTreme" afterschool programs, Prevention Programming for Latino Youth (PPLY) and Middle Afterschool Prevention Programming (MAPP), serve youth ages 10-15 and their parents. Over the past 12 years the Council on Alcohol and Drugs and numerous local host agencies designed and implemented a variety of components appealing to the youth s heads and hearts. Such components serve to package several SAMSHA/NREPP programs. MAPP and PPLY have been replicated in a variety of settings serving various target populations. The evaluation design uses pre/post testing and school behavioral data to determine whether outcomes are being met. National Outcome Measures (NOMs) include decreased 30 day substance use, increased perceived harm/risk of ATOD, and increased perception of disapproval toward ATOD. PPLY’s In Harmonia with My Heritage program emphasizes improving self-image via increasing cultural pride via interacting and teaching about Hispanic cultural awareness and legacy. PPLY won two SAMHSA/CSAP Service to Science Awards in 2010.
Working Effectively with Tribal Governments
AJ Ernst, PhD, Andrea Harris, MS, LCADC, CPP, and Josefine Haynes-Battle, CDR, BSN, MSN, RN
Core Area: Sustainability/Building Diverse Partnerships, Systems, and Policies
This workshop will offer NPNs/SSAs and Tribes a forum to engage in a guided, culturally sensitive discussion about their working relationships. In that context, our NPN workshop will present perspectives from both States and Tribes on how their working relationships were built, how they have been maintained, and what key outcomes resulted from their interactions. This forum will present an overview of the Tribal government structure focusing on the Sovereign Nation designation, Tribal protocols and culture, and opportunities for future interactions between NPNs/SSAs and Tribes. We believe that enhancing State-Tribal government relationships will lead to more effective and comprehensive behavioral health systems.
Using Data Analysis to Develop Parent Campaigns
Jo Morrissey
Core Area: Research to Practice/Prevention Science and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)
21 Reasons, a substance abuse prevention coalition from Portland, Maine, will share successes, evaluation outcomes, and lessons learned from the 21 Reasons parent campaigns between 2005-2010. Using Drug Free Communities funding, 21 Reasons hired Scientific Marketing & Analysis to conduct a random phone survey of Portland parents in 2006, 2008, and 2010 to assist in choosing campaign messages and measure the effectiveness of our campaigns. Messaging was determined using a combination of parent phone survey data, cultural relevance, and research findings on parenting styles effects on underage drinking habits. The parent phone survey provided baseline data on current parental attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Areas identified as low performing were addressed using culturally relevant materials to educate parents on scientific findings of how parental attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors effect underage drinking. Campaign efforts included a combination of PSAs, print and web ads, media advocacy, public presentations, and community outreach.
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PMP) and Prevention
Beverlie Fallik, PhD and John Carnevale, PhD
Core Area: Emerging Trends/Issues
This will be a panel presentation by representatives from CSAT’s PMP lead, (NASPER); NIDA’s Director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research (DESPR); CSAP’s Data Analysis Coordination and Consolidation Center team (DACCC); and several state NPNs and/or PMP leads. This presentation will highlight approaches at the Federal and state levels supporting the use of PMP data for community prevention needs assessment and planning. SAMHSA/CSAP s work explored ways that state substance abuse prevention and PMPs can work together. Over the past year, the DACCC team conducted phone interviews and a web-meeting with PMP and NPN representatives from five states who are at the leading edge of using real time PMP data to inform community prevention planning. Several recommendations emerged about how states can use these data to reduce prescription drug abuse and its consequences. Mr. Bob Lubran and Dr. Wilson Compton will present on CSAT and NIDA’s current efforts.
Preventing Substance Abuse and HIV among At-Risk African American and Latina or Hispanic Women
Nelly Oliver, PhD and Pamela Roddy, PhD
Core Area: Practice to Research/Innovative Approaches
The Minority Substance Abuse/ HIV (SA/HIV) Prevention Program initiative is part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration s (SAMHSA) broader initiative to aid communities in the organization and creation of an infrastructure to prevent substance abuse and the transmission of HIV/AIDS. All grantees are community-level domestic public or private nonprofit entities located in communities of color with high HIV/AIDS infection rates. This roundtable discussion will assemble three or four HIV grantees and/or evaluators targeting African American and Latina or Hispanic women. They will present an overview of their intervention activities, outcomes, challenges/obstacles, and approaches to overcoming those obstacles.
Adaptation on My Mind: Expansion of Evidence-Based Prevention Practices to an Underserved Population
Patti Bokony, PhD
Core Area: Research to Practice/Prevention Science and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)
Social-emotional competence in young children is a key protective mechanism for promoting healthy development. While prevention services fostering social skills are available for classrooms, few exist for the family child care home setting. Yet approximately ¼ of all young children are cared for in family child care homes. Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood and University of Arkansas Medical Sciences collaborated to bring an adaptation of a classroom-based social skills program to family child care homes statewide. The new Al ‘s Caring Pals program derived from the evidenced-based program, Al’s Pals provided training and materials designed specifically for the unique family child care home setting. Working with non-traditional prevention partners and using existing resources and workforce as a strategy to reach an underserved population will be discussed. Al’s Caring Pals approaches, and results from the experimental study indicating statistically significant reductions in children’s antisocial/aggressive behaviors will be presented.
Committed Program Model: Blending Youth Development and Youth Led Environmental Prevention
Danelle Campbell, Amanda Montgomery, and Jeremy Wilson
Core Area: Practice to Research/ Innovative Approaches
Committed is a youth led environmental prevention program that addresses underage drinking, youth access to alcohol, bullying/harassment and youth connectedness to school/community. This model has received the SAMHSA Exemplary Prevention Award and the National Service to Science Award. Committed has demonstrated to be effective with youth engaging in high rate binge drinking, in urban and rural areas, and youth in foster care. This session will provide an overview of the program and how it engages youth and adults towards creating population level change with easy to use toolkits and a step by step guide on implementing youth led program activities. Longitudinal research of 18 sites over 6 years will be shared and data from a statewide replication study. The evaluation design includes measuring impact among culturally diverse populations, instruments that measure youth skill and knowledge increase, the integration of youth development, and changes in community/school norms, practices, and policies.
Building Implementation & Sustainability Capacity of EBPs: The Role of a State-Level Support System
Brittany Rhoades, PhD, Brian Bumbarger, MEd, and Julia Moore, MS
Core Area: Research to Practice/Prevention Science and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)
Although numerous evidence-based programs (EBPs) have been proven effective in research trials and are being widely promoted through federal, state, and philanthropic dollars, few have been scaled up in a way that is likely to have a measurable impact on the critical social problems of today, or to impact community health at a population-level. The Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation (ISF) explicates three systems that are critical in addressing the barriers that prevent these programs from having their intended public health impact. In this talk we describe the relevance of these systems in a real-world context and demonstrate how a state-level Prevention Support System (PSS) has used empirical evidence to inform general and program-specific capacity building and to support interactions between researchers, funders, and practitioners in Pennsylvania. By recognizing the need for a distinct state-level PSS, Pennsylvania has created an infrastructure to effectively address the primary barriers to moving from lists of EBPs to achieving population-level public health improvement.
Succeeding in Community Prevention: New Findings from the Randomized Trial of Communities That Care
Sabrina Oesterle, PhD, Blair Brooke-Weiss, MSPH, and Margaret Kuklinski, PhD
Core Area: Critical Federal Guidelines and Initiatives/A Focus on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
Communities that Care is a coalition-based prevention system that has been shown in a randomized controlled trial to prevent adolescent substance use and delinquency. In this session we address several issues relevant to community leaders and other stakeholders considering implementing this evidence-based prevention system in their communities: First, we present evidence showing that all youth within a community benefit from CTC, including boys and girls and youth who differ in risk. Next, we demonstrate that CTC is a cost-beneficial intervention, based on CTC s prevention of delinquency and substance use at eighth grade. Finally, we describe the importance of providing continued technical assistance for sustaining change in community prevention systems. Craig Povey, program administrator with the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, will discuss these findings.
Family Prevention Resource Centers: Trends, Strategies and Implementation
Sheila Joyner-Pritchard, MSW, CP, Anna L. Jackson, BA, LPN (CP Pending), and Stella Clarke-DuBose, BS, MA (CP Pending)
Core Area: Culturally Relevant Prevention
The course will provide discussion of trends, practical startup and implementation strategies related to Family Prevention Resource Centers, a growing trend nationally. The Fulton Family Prevention Centers Collaborative will provide description of their startup, implementation efforts over their collective period of operations, and review evaluative outcomes that have individually and collectively sustained the represented partner agencies and those outcomes researched nationally. The philosophy and conceptual framework for FPRCs are based on Evidence-Based Principles for Substance Abuse Prevention, and other cross discipline prevention efforts. The concept directly relates to the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) with that relationship detailed. The trend towards FPRCs is growing across the country in community-based and faith-based settings. Their benefits support, enhance, and allow prevention practices in a comprehensive manner to a broad range of persons across life spans, cultures and lifestyles in strengthening families and communities.
Put the “T” back in ATOD: Using Adolescent Brain Research to Provide a Sustainable Prevention Model
Susan Tarasevich, EdD and Margie Modro, MS, CPS
Core Area: Sustainability/Building Diverse Partnerships, Systems, and Policies
Prevention research has determined multiple risk factors are associated with the development of substance abuse and mental illness. Recent research indicates a strong correlation between early nicotine use and future substance use and mental illness. Even with this information, lawmakers, parents, educators, and many health and substance abuse professionals have been reluctant to focus on nicotine in favor of seemingly more dangerous other drugs. A sustainable model for integrating nicotine prevention within existing school structures will be presented. The evidenced-based practices outlined by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, the NIH Brain Addiction Curriculum and Centers for Disease Control were utilized to develop Pennsylvania s 100% Tobacco Free Schools Toolkit. Also discussed, the Training Model endorsed and supported by Pennslyvania Department of Health, Department of Education and the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs to assist schools in making systemic policy and program changes.
Innovative Approaches to Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse
Augie Diana, David Collins, PhD, and Lisa Marsch, PhD
Core Area: Emerging Trends/Issues
Prescription substance abuse has emerged as a significant problem area. Importantly, this problem is relevant across ages; it can manifest itself as medical over-prescribing for the elderly, overuse by those injured or with unremitting pain, including athletes of all ages, and experimentation by youth accessing prescription substances of family members at home. Prescription substance use is also complicated by the fact that these drugs, like alcohol and tobacco, are legal and readily available. Few evidence-based approaches exist to address prescription drug misuse. Dr. David Collins and Dr. Lisa Marsch have embarked on important, innovative efforts to both study, and develop interventions and tools to prevent, this emergent problem. The panelists will describe their research studies and their approaches to intervene with a variety of populations at risk of prescription drug abuse. The information in this workshop is intended to help providers and others identify the most effective ways to prevent prescription substance abuse.
Building Community Capacity Through TTA
Marcus Bouligny, Tiffiany M. Aholou, MSW, Doctoral Candidate
Core Area: Practice to Research/Innovative Approaches
Early evidence from the SPF-SIG cross site evaluation suggests that SPF-SIG communities that received intensive training and technical assistance seemed to fare better than those that did not. The findings lead us to consider the following question: What might be an innovative approach (tools and methods) states can employ to insure communities receive support that will help to build community capacity, especially communities that are typically at a disadvantage such as rural, frontier and other underserved communities. SPF-SIG states and communities across the nation have approached this challenge in different ways. In this workshop we will explore Georgia s system for training and technical assistance that includes the following three elements: 1. Use of community data to target and drive TTA services; 2. Community-Centered Coaching Approach; and, 3. A web-based coordination center that keeps the process running and allows services to accessed over distance.
Using Research to Create, Launch, and Monitor a National Underage Drinking Prevention Campaign
Emily Novick, Camille Lloyd, MSc, and Meredith Williams, MPH
Core Area: Critical Federal Guidelines and Initiatives/A Focus on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
Underage drinking continues to be a national public health issue in the United States, especially among adolescents. An estimated 10.8 million people under the age of 21 in the United States drink alcohol (NIAAA, 2011). The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse and Prevention (CSAP) is developing a National Underage Drinking Public Service Campaign ( the campaign ) focused on the parents of 9-15 year olds. This campaign supports SAMHSA’s Strategic Initiative No.1, Goal 1.2, which is to prevent and reduce the consequences of underage drinking and adult problem drinking. The campaign draws on social marketing and health education behavior theories, brain research and the findings of the 2009 Institute of Medicine report, which noted that the term mental, emotional and behavior (MEB) disorders encompasses both mental illness and substance abuse. Formative research to increase awareness of prevention approaches serves as the foundation for the campaign
Preventing Fatal and Non-Fatal Opioid Overdoses: Implementation of the Massachusetts SPF-SIG
Fernando Perfas, BS,BA, Gisela Rots, BA, MSc, and Scott Formica, BA, MA
Core Area: Critical Federal Guidelines and Initiatives/A Focus on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
Based on the results of a year-long assessment of state-level epidemiological data, unintentional fatal and non-fatal opioid overdoses was identified as the priority issue for the Massachusetts SPF-SIG grant. In contrast to areas such as alcohol and tobacco prevention, the scientific knowledge base for opioid overdoses is not as well developed. While a great deal of effort has been devoted to understanding risk factors and intervening variables for opioid overdose, relatively little attention has been paid to developing and studying the impact of interventions in this area. This session will focus on Massachusetts use of data to respond to an emerging trend and similarly how data was used to guide both the state and funded municipalities through this process. Emphasis will also be placed on highlighting examples from practice, of how new and emerging at-risk populations are being engaged.
The CMCA Model Approach to Community Prevention: Three diverse Case Examples
Maureen Sedonaen, Faith Mills, and Wiwik Bunjamin-Mau
Core Area: Culturally Relevant Prevention
This workshop will present CMCA, an evidence-based SAMHSA model program evaluated by Dr. Alexander Wagenaar. CMCA uses community-organizing strategies to reduce youth access to alcohol by changing local policies and practices, and has been successfully implemented in rural, suburban and urban communities. Staff from the Youth Leadership Institute, who provides national CMCA training, will present three case examples of CMCA and activities attendees can take back to their communities. To illustrate CMCA in rural communities, the Nebraska panhandle developed the capacity of a coalition to pursue policy strategies and navigate the political and social landscape of a destitute and polarized rural region. In suburban Santa Cruz, California, young people were engaged in implementing CMCA, formed successful campus-community partnerships and used positive reinforcement to foster positive social change. CMCA was successfully implemented in urban Honolulu and included nontraditional partners and innovative methods to address community norms around drinking.
The Impact of Maternal Substance Abuse on Child Development
Karen Howell, PhD
Core Area: Selective and/or Indicated Populations/Communities in Transition
Maternal substance abuse (MSA) can result in significant physical, cognitive, social and emotional issues for a young child. Long-term developmental effects of MSA and prenatal exposure on developmental outcomes will be outlined. Conditions of MSA, including disease, prematurity, sub-optimal caretaking, poverty, exposure to violence, neglect and maternal psychopathology, will be discussed. Interventions and resources for children impacted by MSA will be offered.
Peer Programs that Work
Susan Armoni, PhD, Robert Gonzales, MRE, MDiv
Core Area: Sustainability/Building Diverse Partnerships, Systems, and Policies
This highly interactive session will provide participants an opportunity to learn about one of the most effective programs any school can implement to provide a safer, more caring learning environment. Peers Making Peace is a Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Exemplary Program Award winner, recognized as an Effective Program by the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the only peer mediation program recognized and recommended by the U.S. Department of Education. Peers Making Peace improves education, prevents substance abuse and reduces incidents of violence. Peers Making Peace is an innovative preventive approach for handling conflicts both in and out of school. Staff, parents, and students learn specific skills in communication, dispute resolution, and socialization. The program involves at-risk youth and reduces the risk factors they face. It equally addresses the needs of every student in every school.
The Faith Community, Substance Abuse, and Readiness for Change: A National Study
Drew Brooks, BA, CCDP, Dr. Dnika J. Travis, MSW, Ph.D
Core Area: Sustainability/Building Diverse Partnerships, Systems, and Policies
Although previous research has linked spirituality to positive prevention and recovery outcomes, less has focused on faith communities themselves. Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior and the community readiness literature, this session will explore congregational readiness needed to actively provide prevention and recovery support activities. National study findings of 45 faith communities with 3,649 members responding revealed key factors associated with readiness. The intervention consists of training congregational teams to provide awareness, education, and recovery support. The study, a quasi-experimental research design, used comparison groups with outcomes measured at two time points: at baseline and again 24 months into the program. In a five year period teams have expanded from 100 teams to 350 teams, four states to 21 states, and a few denominations to 19 different faith traditions. These teams are in rural, suburban, and urban areas and include Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, and Native American congregants.
IMPACT Mentoring - A peer Mentor Model Demonstrating Outcomes
Danelle Campbell, Amanda Montgomery, and Jeremy Wilson
Core Area: Practice to Research/Innovative Approaches
While middle school students are being exposed to high risk environments and demonstrate high risk behavior - Impact Mentoring is providing an experience rich in youth development supports and opportunities. The Impact model has brought the evidence-based practice of mentoring to life by infusing a youth led and youth driven service model. Impact Mentoring has documented outcomes among middle school youth in fostering academic achievement and school connectedness while decreasing use and exposure to ATOD and violence. The evaluation design includes measuring impact among culturally diverse populations, instruments that measure youth skill and knowledge increase, the integration of youth development, and increases in youth emotional well being. In addition to participant outcome data presenters will share research done on a staff profile of skills and characteristics. This profile facilitates the hiring and training process to better identify practitioners that can create safe environment where all youth can learn and thrive.
State-by-State Estimates of the Cost Savings from Prevention
Beverlie Fallik, PhD and Ted Miller, PhD
Core Area: Research to Practice/Prevention Science and Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs)
State-by-state, we estimated the incidence of youth substance abuse, the cost savings of a typical school-based substance abuse prevention program, and the cost and return on investment in a range of effective school-based, community-based, and environmental prevention programs. This workshop will review the report created for an example state. It will illustrate how the estimates were developed. It then will teach participants how to access, use, and present the cost savings estimates.
Case Study: The Winchester Concept Map Project to Reduce and Prevent Bullying
Alayne MacArthur, MS
Core Area: Emerging Trends/Issues
In 2010 the city of Winchester, MA experienced several serious bullying incidents in its community and public schools. The Winchester community was deeply divided about how to respond to the specific incidents, their connection to other risk behaviors such as substance use, and how to reduce and prevent future occurrences. The Winchester Coalition for a Safe Community, with funding from SAMSHA, undertook a concept mapping project to build consensus among diverse stakeholders to identify and implement high value, strategic actions for reducing and preventing bullying. Concept mapping is a qualitative and quantitative mixed methods -web based and live- technology that provides a framework for generating and evaluating a community’s views on solutions for high stakes issues. This session is a case study of how the Coalition used concept mapping technology to build community support and cohesion for understanding the factors that foster bullying and identifying strategies for addressing those factors.
Addressing opioid overdose: How one Massachusetts community applied the SPF to overdose prevention
Catherine Sugarman, MA, Erica Clarke, MA and Kim Hanton, LADC
Core Area: Critical Federal Guidelines and Initiatives/A Focus on the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
Revere, Massachusetts is an urban coastal community and home to the award-winning Massachusetts General Hospital Revere CARES Coalition. Although Revere has progressed in preventing youth substance use, the alarming rates of opioid overdose among adults prompted Revere CARES to target a new population of community members. This presentation will include an overview of how the Strategic Prevention Framework has enabled Revere CARES to employ evidence-based and innovative approaches in preventing fatal and non-fatal overdoses in the community. Presenters will share how the Coalition has tailored its strategies to meet the needs of individuals who are actively using opioids and those who might witness an overdose. Successes include the training of 299 individuals in opioid overdose prevention, the establishment of a first responder Narcan pilot program, and the creation of a citywide medication disposal program. It is anticipated that these strategies will ultimately reduce fatal and non-fatal overdose rates in Revere.
Sustainable, Cost-Efficient Population Level Prevention in Fiscal Crises and Health Care Reform
Dennis Embry, PhD
Core Area: Sustainable/cost-efficient prevention to achieve rapid results amid fiscal and health crisesHealth-care, special education, public-safety and other social costs are skyrocketing in the worst modern economic crisis for state and local governments. Slashing prevention efforts will only worsen the bigger costs in the near future. How can states, local governments and community coalitions possibly respond? This presentation lays out a framework, using three totally different highly effective prevention strategies from the 2009 IOM Report that can rapidly reduce mental, emotional, behavioral, physical and ATOD costs and prevalence across multiple silos. Each example can be applied to universal, selected and indicated prevention—reducing training, technical support and dissemination costs. Participates can access hyperlinked materials to calculate cost-efficiencies and break-even in their own jurisdictions, as well as a blended funding including private sources, sponsorships, and 3rd party reimbursements. Existing state data sets are identified from our work with Promise Neighborhood Research Consortium to show rapid prevention results. A published paper summarizes all elements.
