US Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse For Alcohol and Drug Information DHHS SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse For Alcohol and Drug Information
Photo Of Person One Photo Of Person Two Photo Of Person Three Photo Of Person Four
Drugs
Audiences
Issues
Publications
Newsroom
Calendar
Resources
Research

This Web site is a component of the SAMHSA Health Information Network.

Publications
Publications

Quick Find & Order
Top 50
Pubs in Series
Cost Recovery Items
Posters
Videos
Spanish
Drugs
Audiences
Issues

This Web site is a component of the SAMHSA Health Information Network.

  
A Toolkit for Hispanic/Latino Community Groups

I. Introduction

What is this guidebook about?

This guidebook is about helping Hispanic/Latino community groups organize their communities around a major problem facing Hispanic/Latino youth—alcohol and drug use.

Why does this guidebook focus on the Hispanic/Latino community?

Many parents, families, young people, and community organizations throughout the United States are taking steps to prevent alcohol and drug abuse in their communities. These people and organizations are building strong local movements aimed at preventing and decreasing substance use and abuse. And these efforts are making a difference. In fact, recent studies on the use of alcohol and drugs by young people in the United States show a decrease in use overall.

Yet some groups and communities may not be experiencing these positive outcomes to the same degree. This seems to be true for the Hispanic/Latino community. Current research shows that there has been an increase in substance use and abuse by Hispanic/Latino young people.

Why does this guidebook focus on youth?

This guidebook focuses on youth because many Hispanic/Latino communities are:

  • realizing that they can be a critical force in decreasing substance use and abuse among youth in their communities
  • effective in organizing their community for youth oriented programs
  • realizing the importance of strengthening youth's skills required for resisting substance use and abuse

Prevention efforts appear to be making a difference, but certain groups, like Hispanics, are not realizing the positive effects to the same degree

as other populations.

Hispanic/Latino Community

There is an increase in substance use by Hispanic/Latino young people.


Students Picture

How Will This Guidebook Help You?

This guidebook will:

  • Give you facts about alcohol and drug use among Hispanic/Latino youth.
  • Explain factors that either prevent or contribute to substance use.
  • Outline basic steps in community organizing.
  • Give you some organizing start-up tools.
  • Identify resources that can help you in your organizing efforts.


II. A Fact Sheet on Substance Use in the Hispanic/Latino Community

Facts About Hispanic/Latino Youth (Age 12_17)

Cigarettes

  • About 2 in every 10 Hispanic/Latino youth report smoking cigarettes recently.
  • About 6 out of 10 youth report they were at great risk of smoking one or more packs of cigarettes a day.

Alcohol Use

  • Alcohol is the main substance used by Hispanic/Latino youth.
  • Two out of every 10 report using alcohol recently.
  • About 4 out of every 100 report `heavy use' of alcohol recently. (There was a slight increase from 1995 to 1996, and again from 1996 to 1997.)
  • Almost 1 out of every 10 reports recent `binge' alcohol use. (Binge drinking is defined as drinking 5 or more drinks on one occasion.)
  • About 5 out of every 10 report being `at great risk' of having 5 or more drinks once or twice a week.

Illegal Drug Use

  • About 1 in 10 Hispanic/Latino youth has recently used illegal drugs.
  • About 3 out of every 10 report being at risk for smoking marijuana once a month.
  • About 5 out of every 10 report being at risk for smoking marijuana once or twice a week every week.
  • Among eighth-grade students, Hispanics/Latinos have the highest prevalence for the use of marijuana.
  • Hispanic/Latino youth have higher rates of marijuana use than non-Hispanic/Latino white youth.
  • About half of all Hispanic/Latino youth report being at risk for using cocaine once a month.

Hispanic youth age 12 to 17 report recent use of substances

as follows:
• About 2 in 10 youth report cigarette smoking.

• Alcohol is used by about two out of 10 youths.

• Almost 1 out of every 10 youth reports binge alcohol use.

• About 1 in 10 youth has used illicit drugs.

More than half of Hispanic/Latino youth see themselves as being at great risk for using substances.


Source: Preliminary Results from the 1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse Series: H-6.


Facts Related to Substance Use in the General Hispanic/Latino Community

  • The main substance used is alcohol.
  • The two main illegal drugs used are marijuana and cocaine.
  • Hispanic/Latino use of `any illegal drug' has increased slightly between 1995 and 1997.
  • Hispanic/Latino families living in poverty are at greater risk for having problems with substance use.
  • Hispanic women often get involved with alcohol and drug use as a way to be `supportive' of their partner who is using alcohol and drugs.
  • Hispanic/Latina females use illegal drugs at a younger age than males.
  • Hispanic/Latino families tend to keep substance use problems `secret' within the family.
  • Out of all individuals arrested nationally for impaired driving, 1 in 5 were Hispanic/Latino.

    The school dropout rate is higher for Hispanic/Latino students than for other racial/ethnic groups.

Hispanic/Latino Community
  • The school dropout rate is higher for Hispanic/Latino students than for other racial/ethnic groups. In some communities, half of the youth drop out of high school. (Substance use is related to school dropout rates and poor performance in school.)
  • In at least one study, six out of 10 Hispanic/Latina pregnant adolescents report drinking beer or wine before their third month of pregnancy, and half report smoking marijuana.
  • Compared to other racial groups, Hispanics/Latinos come in second highest in use of alcohol, binge drinking and heavy alcohol use.


III. Factors Related to Substance Use and Abuse

Research has shown that there are many positive and negative factors at work that either prevent, or contribute to, substance use and abuse.

  • Factors that help to prevent substance use and abuse are called protective factors.
  • Factors that contribute to, or increase the risk of, developing a substance use and abuse problem are called risk factors.

Research has also shown that in order to prevent substance use and abuse, two things must happen:

  1. factors that increase the risk of developing the problem must be identified, and
  2. ways to reduce the impact of those factors must be developed.

The information that follows will help you to better understand the protective and risk factors related to substance use and abuse, and help you to identify those factors in your community. This, in turn, will help you to develop the ways that your group can work to enhance the protective factors and reduce the risk factors.

The secret to a healthy community is the balancing of protective and risk factors by increasing the protective factors while decreasing the risk factors.

Hispanic/Latino Community


A. General Factors Related to Substance Use and Abuse

General Protective Factors

It is important to understand why some youth who are exposed to many risk factors do not become substance abusers or juvenile delinquents, school dropouts, or teen parents for that matter. It's because they also possess or are exposed to some protective factors that help them resist, fight, or `beat the odds' against substance use.

These protective factors can be grouped into the following three categories:

1. Bonding or having access to people with whom youth can have healthy relationships, such as families, friends, school, and community.

Three conditions are necessary for bonding:

  • Opportunities: youth must have the opportunity to contribute to their community, family, peers, and school.
  • Skills: youth must be taught the skills necessary to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to them.
  • Recognition: youth must be recognized and acknowledged for their efforts.
Kids at School

2. Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards, such as

  • having clear, positive standards for behavior
  • being consistently supported
  • being given consistent consequences for not following standards
  • being committed to achieving the goals valued by the groups to which they attach

Youth must be taught the skills necessary to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to them.

Child Picture

3. Individual Characteristics which can include the following

  • gender
  • a resilient or "beat the odds" temperament
  • positive social attitudes
  • intelligence
  • physical and mental health
  • personality traits


Risk Factors Picture

General Risk Factors

Risk factors are often grouped into the following four categories:

1. Community Risk Factors, such as:

  • exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use
  • conflicting attitudes in the community about drug use
  • extensive exposure to drug use as shown in the media
  • high rates of mobility, or people `moving from one place to another'
  • a low `sense' of neighborhood and community
  • amount of poverty, poor housing, and crime

2. Family Risk Factors, such as

  • family history of behavior problems, including substance use
  • family management problems, including a lack of clear expectations for behavior and failure of parents to monitor their children.
  • family conflict among caregivers or between caregivers and children.
  • parents' attitudes about drug use, or their use of alcohol and drugs

3. School Risk Factors, such as

  • early and ongoing behavior problems in school
  • student academic failure, and failure of the school system to meet the needs of students
  • negative attitudes about schools, going to school, and learning

4. Individual Risk Factors, such as

  • not feeling bound by rules, or not believing in trying to be successful (alienation and rebelliousness)
  • having friends who have behavior problems, including delinquency, substance use, violent activity, early sexual activity, and dropping out of school
  • a change in attitude toward self-acceptance of the behavior problems, especially upon entering middle school
  • early start of behavior problems, especially in the early teens
  • behaviors have a mental or physical basis that may need diagnosis and treatment

Generalizations about Risks

The following five points reflect some generalizations that can be said about risk factors:

1. Risks exist in all areas of life

2. The more risk factors present, the greater the risk

3. Common risk factors help to predict various problem behaviors

4. Risk factors do not vary across racial or cultural groups

5. Increasing protective factors can reduce risks


Hispanic/Latino Community

A major protective factor for the Hispanic/Latino culture is its concept of family—which is rooted in cultural tradition.

B. Protective and Risk Factors in the Hispanic/Latino

Community

Protective Factors for the Hispanic Community

The Hispanic/Latino culture provides many of the protective factors that help prevent substance use and abuse. These include:

  • Bonding

    — "Familialismo"

    — Multigenerational kinship network

    — Ethnic pride

    — Commitment

    — "Simpatia"

    — Strong female presence

  • Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards

    — Spiritualism

    — Respect (hierarchical based on age)

    — Trust

    — "Confianza"

    — Concern for children

  • Individual Characteristics

    — Dignity

    "Personalismo" (interpersonal skills)


Risk Factors for the Hispanic Community

Community Risk Factors, such as

  • exposure to alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use
  • conflicting attitudes in the community about drug use
  • extensive exposure to drug use as shown in the media
  • high rates of mobility, or people `moving from one place to another'
  • poverty, poor housing, and crime
  • barriers to employment, communication problems due to lack of proficient English skills, and discrimination and acculturation experiences

Family Risk Factors, such as

  • parents' attitudes about drug use, their use of alcohol and drugs, and in some cases, their approval of such behaviors
  • family management problems, including lack of clear expectations for children's behavior and failure of parents to monitor their children.
  • family conflict among caregivers or between caregivers and children, particularly if youth assimilate much quicker than their parents or caregivers, which results in conflict between the generations.
  • family history of behavior problems, including substance use

School Risk Factors, such as

  • academic failure beginning in elementary school
  • failure of school system to meet the needs of students
  • difficulty `fitting in' at school and in social activities

Individual Characteristics, such as

  • early start of behavior problems, especially in the early teens
  • having friends who have behavior problems, including delinquency, substance use, violent activity, early sexual activity, and dropping out of school
  • not feeling bound by rules, or not believing in trying to be successful (alienation and rebelliousness), not knowing how to relate to peers from other cultures and groups in the community, having weak social ties with peers and a reduced sense of belonging to the school
  • particularly for migrant youth or youth who move from place to place
  • a change in attitude toward acceptance of the behavior problems, especially upon entering middle school
  • behaviors that have a mental or physical basis that may need diagnosis and treatment

Please see Figure 1 for a graphic presentation of protective factors and risk factors within the Hispanic/Latino culture and community

There are many children and youth who have been able to have a healthy growth and development despite the many risks that present odds against them.

In general, youth experience high levels of personal and social stress and conflict. Hispanic youth encounter and face additional risk factors.


Protective Factors and Risk Factors for Substance Use


IV. What Can You Do?

If you are asking yourself what you can do to help prevent substance use among the youth in your community, there are many options for you.

A. As a parent and family member ...

You can take some simple, everyday actions that can make a big difference in children's lives.

  • Listen to what they are saying
  • Talk with them
  • Find out how they are doing in school
  • Give them advice
  • Provide encouragement
  • Get them involved in activities
  • Play games with them
  • Be aware of the messages they are getting from the media
  • Have clear expectations for their behavior
  • Let them know what your expectations are for their behavior
  • Know where your children are
  • Know who your children's friends are
  • Be consistent in your training and discipline
  • Develop ways to have meaningful participation in children's lives
  • Acknowledge children for their efforts
  • Talk with them about substance use and abuse!

B. As a community member...

You can help your community organize to develop effective substance abuse prevention programs.

Communities that are organized have been able to increase the protective factors and decrease the risk factors that are related to substance use and abuse. They have done this by developing programs that:

  • Help youth develop behavior skills
  • Develop and improve parenting skills
  • Provide needed support services
  • Improve the environment
  • Make acculturation easier
Parent and Family Members Picture

You can take some simple, everyday actions that can make a big difference in children's lives.


Community Influence Picture

Increase community influence

Please see Section VI and Figure 2 for a list of strategies that are proven effective in enhancing protective factors and decreasing risk factors.

Please keep in mind that

  • successful community organizing happens when community members, like you, become the experts, define the protective and risk factors for your community, and come up with creative solutions that make use of the community's energy, commitment and resources.
  • it is most important that community organizers engage in a process of strategic planning which can guide them through their efforts.

    C. Become Successful!

    What can your group do to make sure you succeed?

    As your community action group begins to work and grow, you should consider why some movements succeed and others fail. A few reasons for success of action groups are as follows:

    • The group includes all persons and organizations that have a stake in the work of the group.
    • The action group develops clear goals, sets priorities, and makes sure everyone in the group understands the goals and priorities.
    • The group works toward a consensus on the actions to be taken to accomplish the goals, and sets timelines for taking those actions.
    • The group uses good organizational and management skills and conducts itself in a businesslike manner.
    • The group is realistic about the amount of time and planning it will take to meet its goals.
    • The group starts with small steps and does not take on too much at once—avoiding burnout and frustration.
    • Members of the action group continue to `grow' as community organizers by adding to their awareness and knowledge of the community.
    • The group meets its goals and becomes more visible to its supporters, current and future funders, and to the community-at-large.

    The next section in this guidebook will help you get started in your community organizing efforts.

The action group develops clear goals, sets priorities, and makes sure everyone in the group understands the goals and priorities.

Becme Successful Picture


Figure 2

Strategies for Decreasing Risk Factors for Substance Use


Strategy

Specific Activities


Information dissemination

• Drug-free workplace policies

• Messages that appeal to youth

• PSAs that air when youth watch television

• Youth-oriented mass media campaigns


Prevention Education

• Parenting and child management skills

• Parental leadership activities

• Communication skills

• Problem solving skills

• Coping skills

• Role of parent in child development and child learning


Alternatives

• Classes on cultural history, values and traditions

• Sessions on coping with challenges of growing up a in new country

• Ethnic appreciation events

• School organization activities

• Sessions to develop social competence skills and youth/peer behavior skills

• Community service opportunities

• Mentoring programs

• Drug-free activities and social events


• Health care needs, including family therapy, mental health needs early and unwanted pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, home visits

• Education issues, including ESOL, GED academic support, school failure and delinquency

• Career and family planning services

• Social support, including child care, transportation, and meals.

Problem identification and referral


• Build connections between school and families

• Develop local and statewide coalitions

• Develop multi-agency activities

• Enhance community involvement

Community-based process


Environmental

• Clean up community

• Enhance signage

• Develop campaigns to influence media messages

• Develop anti-drug use media materials

• Influence establishment and enforcement of minimum purchase age requirements

• Influence development of price deterrents


V. Models for Organizing and Building Successful Prevention Programs

What types of programs work?

Programs that target systems and groups and use many strategies are most effective in affecting substance use

and abuse

among youth.

This toolkit provides you with three models that can be followed in your organizing efforts and in developing programs to address substance use among the youth in your community. You can use the models as is or adapt various steps from each to create a tool that is useful to you in undertaking your activities.

The following three models are included in this section. (Please see the Appendices B-D for additional information on each model.)

  • A Five-Step Process for Organizing Your Community
  • A Sixteen-Step Model for Becoming Part of a Solution
  • Seven Steps to Building a Successful Prevention Program
Programs Picture


Five Steps to Community Organizing

Step 1: Define Your Community

Step 2: Research Your Community

Step 3: Set Your Priorities

Step 4: Make a List of Stakeholders

Step 5: Hold a Stakeholders' Meeting

A 16-Step Model for Becoming Part of a Solution

The following 16 steps were developed by the National Council of La Raza (May 1989) to help community leaders become more effective and appropriately involved, based on a logical decision-making process. The steps have been adapted to help you figure out how to proceed with strategies for impacting on substance abuse in your community.

1. Learn the basics about the problem.
2. Educate your organization
3. Identify the local players
4. Become known as a player.
5. Assess Hispanic community needs
6. Help develop a plan
7. Study alternative roles
8. Understand what you're getting into
9. Decide on your agency's role
10. Develop a plan of action
11. Become wise
12. Develop networks
13. Become a Hispanic voice
14. Find the money you need
15. Make a difference
16. Monitor and assess your progress

Seven Steps to Building a Successful Prevention Program

1. Determine Your Community's Readiness for Organizing
2. Conduct a Community Assessment
3. Translate Data Into Priorities
4. Identify programs and services that exist in the community.
5. Target Your Efforts
6. Follow Guiding Principles and Best Practices
7. Evaluate


VI. Developing Prevention Programs

Designing an effective substance abuse prevention program involves following some `tried-and-true' principles and strategies. Below you will find the six basic categories used for describing prevention strategies, followed by some specific strategies for developing prevention programs. You will also find a list of some general principles and practices for designing and developing prevention programs.

Prevention Programs

A. Strategies for Prevention Programs

Types of Prevention Efforts

Prevention strategies have been categorized in a variety of different ways. SAMHSA/ CSAP promotes the following six strategies:

1. Information strategies seek to provide awareness and knowledge about: 1) the extent and effects of substance use and abuse on individuals, families, and communities; and 2) the prevention programs and services that exist in the community.

Develop a planning process that will result in a clear program purpose, an organizational structure, and a plan for action.

2. Education strategies seek to increase communication on activities that will affect critical life and social skills, including decision-making, refusal skills, critical analysis (for example, of media messages), and systematic judgment abilities.

3. Problem Identification and Referral strategies seek to identify those who use illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco and refer them to prevention-education and treatment programs.

4. Alternatives are strategies that seek to provide substance-free activities for targeted populations.

5. Community-based strategies seek to enhance the community's ability to effectively provide prevention programs and services. These strategies include networking, organizing, coalition building, collaboration activities, planning, and program development.

6. Environmental strategies seek to establish or change written and unwritten community laws, standards, codes, and attitudes in order to lessen the extent and effects of substance use.


B. Specific Prevention Strategies

This section provides examples of specific strategies for developing prevention programs. Figure 2 depicts the program components in a chart format.

Information Dissemination

  • Develop education programs that are designed to increase the knowledge youth have about the hazards of substance use, and to develop negative attitudes toward alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
  • Use the mass media to change knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes about substance use and abuse.
  • Create media campaigns that are geared toward youth and avoid using authority figures and threats to get the message across.

Prevention Education

  • Create educational program components and activities that are led by youth, for youth.
  • Offer educational programs that are intensive and repeated, year after year.
  • Design interactive educational programs that have youth acting-out or role-playing prevention scenarios.
  • Establish programs that include the whole family.

Problem Identification and Referral

  • Be prepared to identify and refer youth who come into the prevention program and who already have an alcohol or drug problem. Provide transportation to drug treatment programs.
  • Be aware that early identification programs can pose risks to the youth involved. For example, labeling youth can pose risks to them. There also may be risk in exposing youth whose patterns of use may be only experimental to youth with more problematic substance abuse and other deviant behaviors.
  • Identify the needs of the youth who come into the prevention program, and then identify the types of programs and services that exist or need to be developed in the community to meet these needs.

Alternatives

  • Create different kinds of activities for different types of youth groups, and involve youth in the development of these programs.
  • Create opportunities for community service which allow youth to "give back" to their community.
  • Set up adult-youth mentoring programs.
  • Develop recreation and cultural activities that are structured, supervised, and monitored.

Create opportunities for community service which allow youth to "give back" to their community.


Develop programs that provided family therapy and training in parenting skills.

  • Develop programs that are ongoing and offer youth many hours of involvement.
  • Develop programs that provided family therapy and training in parenting skills.
  • Design programs that address not only substance abuse, but also physical and mental health problems, family problems, early and unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, school failure, delinquency, and the needs of juvenile offenders.
  • Create program alternatives that take part in the community's overall prevention effort and the development of strong community norms against substance use.

Community-based Processes

  • Create community partnerships that include groups from all parts of the community and prevention activities that reach a large number of individuals.
  • Develop activities that will increase coordination of efforts between public and private agencies, including law enforcement and service providers. Such coordination can increase the chances of getting funding, which in turn will increase access to and quality of prevention and treatment services.
  • Establish community-based coalitions that have a clear understanding of their purpose. This will facilitate coalition development and, ultimately, coalition success.
  • Develop a planning process that will result in a clear program purpose, an organizational structure, and a plan for action.
  • Ensure that all members of the coalition have a shared purpose and plan for action. If coordination of services is the task, organization leaders need to be involved. If community mobilization is the task, grassroots activists and community citizens must be involved.
  • Ensure that coalition members see that the time and effort they have contributed to the coalition have been worthwhile, and that they receive awards and rewards for participating.
  • Organize the coalitions and programs in a way that makes it easy for members to work well together. For example, complicated committee structures are often not productive and can even be counterproductive. Committees or task forces without specific purposes or responsibilities tend to lose members.
  • Implement strategies that have proven to be effective. Use the knowledge that has come from research on prevention strategies.
Community-based Processes

Design programs that address not only substance abuse, but also the many other problems youth may manifest.


Environmental Approaches

Price Interventions

  • Petition for a tax increase on alcohol and tobacco, thereby increasing the price and decreasing the use of these substances.

Minimum Purchase Age Interventions

  • Petition to raise the minimum age for buying alcohol to age 21.
  • Petition to raise the minimum age for buying tobacco.
  • Petition to have existing minimum-age laws enforced.
  • Develop a public awareness campaign about noncompliance with the above laws if you find that retailers in the community are not complying with these laws or are not being punished for noncompliance.

Deterrence Interventions

  • Petition to reduce the legal BAC (blood alcohol content) limit to .08.
  • Create interventions addressing location and density of retail outlets
  • Promote limits on how many alcohol retail outlets can be in the community and restrictions on where those outlets can be located.
  • Develop community and neighborhood anti-drug activities, such as neighborhood watch and citizen patrol activities, that will decrease sales of illegal drugs.

Restrictions on use

  • Help establish restrictions on substance use in public places and private workplaces.

Server-oriented interventions

  • Create training programs that teach servers about laws, enforcement, and penalties regarding selling or serving alcohol to intoxicated patrons and minors.
  • Create training programs that teach servers how to identify signs of intoxication, use of fake or false identification, and how to refuse sales in these situations.

Counteradvertising

  • Create counteradvertising campaigns that disseminate information about the hazards of products, such as alcohol and tobacco, and about the industry that promotes and benefits from the sales of these products.

The five-step process outlined below will help you in your organizing efforts in your community. Several forms are included that will help you carry out some of the tasks involved in this 5-step process.

Develop community and neighborhood anti-drug activities


C. Guiding Principles and Best Practices for Prevention Programs

Prevention programs should:

  • be designed to strengthen protective factors and reduce risk factors
  • target the use of all forms of drug abuse, including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and inhalants
  • include training on how to resist drugs when offered, and work to strengthen personal commitments against drug use
  • work to increase social competency (in communications, peer relationships, self-efficacy, and assertiveness), in conjunction with reinforcement of attitudes against drug use
  • be designed for specific age groups
  • include interactive learning activities, such as peer discussion groups, rather than just direct teaching by an instructor
  • be long term and ongoing, and especially provide repeat interventions during the transition from elementary school to middle high school, and to high school
  • include a component for parents and caregivers so they will be able to reinforce what the children are learning about drug use, and feel more comfortable about having family discussions about drug use.
  • address the drug abuse problem as it relates to the local community
  • be culturally sensitive
  • be adapted to the specific nature of the drug problem in the community
  • include a focus on the family, a factor proven to have a greater impact than efforts that focus on parents only or children only.
  • include a more intensive prevention efforts and begin earlier, if the level of risk factors is high within the target population
  • include media campaigns and policy changes, such as new regulations that restrict access to alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs, in conjunction with school and family intervention programs in the community
  • strengthen norms against drug use in all drug abuse prevention settings, including the family, the school, and the community
  • use the schools which are a place where prevention efforts can reach many different populations — schools also serve as important prevention settings for reaching special populations at risk for drug abuse, such as children with behavior problems or learning disabilities and those who are potential dropouts
  • prove cost effective if the program is effective. For every dollar spent on drug use prevention, communities can save 4 to 5 dollars in cost for drug abuse treatment and counseling

To find a brief description of what programs are doing, please go to the next section of this book, Appendix A.


Include a component for parents and caregivers so they will be able to reinforce what the children are learning about drug use, and feel more comfortable about having family discussions about drug use.


Appendix A — Resources To Help You

This section identifies programs and organizations that can provide you with additional information. A chart is also available on "Learning About Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illicit Drugs"

social activities; educational and enrichment activities. Parental leadership activities.

****

SMART Leaders

Tena L. St. Pierre, Ph.D.

D. Lynne Kaltreider, M.Ed.

The Pennsylvania State University, Institute for Policy Research and Evaluation

N253 Burrowes Building

University Park, Pennsylvania 16802

Phone: 814-865-9561

Fax: 814-865-3098

Target population: 14 to 17 year olds at risk who have completed a Stay SMART program.

Activities: An educational curriculum focusing on self esteem; coping with stress; and resisting pressures to use drugs and to engage in sexual activity; peer leadership activities; monthly youth activities.

****

Strengthening Families Program (SFP)

Dr. Rose Alvarado
Department of Health Promotion and Education
University of Utah
300 S. 1850 E, Room 215
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0920
Phone: 801-581-8498

Fax: 801-581-5872
http://strengtheningfamilies.org

Target population: children of substance abusers; and families with children ages 6 through 10.

Programs at Work in the Community

These prevention programs are examples of comprehensive, integrated programs that attempt to strengthen protective and resiliency factors in children and families.

Across Ages
Andrea S. Taylor, Ph.D.
Temple University, Center for Intergenerational Learning
1601 N. Broad Street, USB 206
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122
Phone: 215-204-6708

Fax: 215-204-6733
http://www.temple.edu/cil
Target Population: sixth grade students (ages 11 to 13 years old).

Activities: Intergenerational mentoring on a one-on-one basis; engaging youth in community service activities; training classroom teachers to administer the life skills curriculum; providing weekend and evening activities to engage families, mentors, and youth.

****

DARE To Be You

Jan Miller-Heyl, MS

Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
215 N. Linden, Suite E
Cortez, Colorado 81321
Phone: 970-565-3606
Fax: 907-565-4641

Target population: primary prevention program for children ages 2 to 5 and their families

Activities: Family component: parent, youth, and family training and activities that teach self responsibility, personal and parenting efficacy, communication and social skills, and problem solving and decision making skills; school component—training and support for child care providers; community component—training in the DARE To Be You strategies to community members who interact with the target families.

****

Family Advocacy Network

(FAN Club)

Tena L. St. Pierre, Ph.D.

D. Lynne Kaltreider, M.Ed.
Irwing Feller
The Pennsylvania State University, Institute for Policy Research and Evaluation
N253 Burrowes Building
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802

Phone: 814-865-9561
Fax: 814-865-3098

Target population: parents of participants in SMART Moves programs, ages 10-17.

Activities: Individual basic support to help families deal with stress and to encourage involvement in family activities; regularly scheduled group


Activities: to reduce risk factors for substance abuse and other problem behaviors the program builds on protective factors—improving family relationships, parenting skills, and improving the youth's social and life skill.

****

Strengthening Multi-Ethnic Families and Communities
Marilyn L. Steele, Ph.D.
1220 S. Sierra Bonita Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90019-2552
Phone: 323-936-0343
Fax: 323-936-7130

Target population: parents of children ages 3 through 18.
Focus: to reduce drug/alcohol use, teen suicide, juvenile delinquency, gang involvement, child abuse, and domestic violence.

Activities: Parent training classes focusing on cultural/spiritual values, rites of passage, positive discipline, enhancing relationships, and family/community violence and community involvement.

Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco (LCAT) 1875 Connecticut Ave., NW
Suite 732
Washington, DC 20009

Tel: 202-265-8054
Fax: 202-265-8056
http://www.lcat.org
Operates a hotline assisting callers with referral information regarding alcohol use. Provides resources on Latino health in the areas of alcohol and tobacco use, violence and other issues effecting Latino communities. Clearinghouse disseminates information locally and nationally and provides tools to organize effective community coalitions. Distributes a national quarterly newsletter.

****

National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations (COSSMHO)
1501 16th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20036-1401

Tel: 202-387-5000

Fax: 202-797-4353
http://cossmho.org
COSSMHO is a national organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of Hispanic/Latinos. Services include capacity building and infrastructure building for community based organizations, community organizing and planning, proposal development and grant writing, cultural competency training and resource materials.

****

National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
1111 19th Street, Suite1000
Washington, DC 20036

(800) 311-NCLR or 202-785-1670

Fax: 202-776-1792

http://www.nclr.org
Provides assistance to Hispanic/Latino community-based organizations—proposal development for community-based organizations, resource distribution, program evaluation and issues training.

Puerto Rican Organization for Community Education and Economic Development, Inc. (PROCEED)

815 Elizabeth Avenue
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
Tel: 908-351-7727 Fax: 908-353-5185

Serves Hispanic/Latino communities —needs assessment and organizational audits, board development, staff development, networking and collaboration links and resource distribution.

****

<