Prevention Works! Minutes 

Clallam County Prevention Works!
Community Coalition Meeting

June 14, 2004, Olympic Medical Center with Telelinking to the West End

Meeting was called to order

It was moved and seconded to approve the minutes of May 10 Prevention Works meeting.

Brief report of previous board meeting (Norma) – Approved appointment of Labels for Education committee with Nancy Martin as chair. Made some revisions for strategic planning schedule. Sent to committee chairs to return July 16 to review at July 28 board meeting. Included family friendly business. Fiona Hert has resigned and is moving to Minnesota. She will be greatly missed.

Self Introductions - your name and who is your "hero" (can be a real or fantasy person) and why

Norma Turner (Prevention Works), Shaine Schramling (Parenting Matters Foundation), Cynthia Martin (Parenting Matters Foundation), Susan Hillgren (Family Planning of Clallam County), Sue Renes (ESD 114), Joanne Dille ( Clallam County Health & Human Services), Ida Carroll (West End Outreach), Nancy Martin (Lutheran Community Services), Jennifer Charles (CCHHS), Florence Bucierka (CCHHS), Karen Meyer (Communities that Care), Barbara Clampett (Peninsula College), Ellen Fetchiet (Port Angeles School District), Carol Featherstone (Mental Health Counselor) 

Florence Bucierka - Community Readiness Survey Results & Structure of Comprehensive Prevention Plan (Below is summary distributed by Florence)

COMMUNITY READINESS SURVEY

CLALLAM COUNTY, WASHINGTON

Presentation at the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Conference in 2002 by staff from the Minnesota Institute of Public Health on a Community Readiness Survey which assesses adult attitudes regarding alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in the community and “take the temperature” of the community

Came back and discussed with Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse staff and volunteered to pilot the survey in Clallam County in the summer of 2003. 

See the survey as part of the comprehensive community prevention plan.  We use data from school surveys to assess youth attitudes and have input from key leaders.  This was an opportunity to have adult community beliefs/perceptions of use and access by youth, community feelings toward prevention, and assess overall readiness of the community to work on prevention.  It is a part of the data to use for the environmental approaches of the plan addressing community norms and designing a social marketing plan.

In the summer of 2003, 600 letters on Clallam County Health and Human Services stationery were sent to a random selection of Clallam County households which explained the survey, asking for their participation and let the person know that the survey would arrive in a week.  The following week the survey arrived with a $3.00 incentive.  The third week a postcard was sent asking participants to return the survey if they had not already done so.

Press releases were done the week of the survey and the week the reminder postcard was sent. The local cable channel did a short segment about the survey and stressed the importance of the survey.

Usually the incentives are a pen, a package of seeds, etc.  The $3 cash incentive seems to have prompted participants to return the survey.  In a usual mailed survey a 10% return is considered good, with the Community Readiness Survey the highest they had ever had at MIPH was about 30%.  Clallam County had 56% of the surveys returned, the highest ever returned.

One comment about the incentive was “The $3 was a nice incentive.  Usually people (including me) would simply toss a survey.  However, knowing that you care enough for feedback that you are willing to send money, makes me want to contribute.  Thank you for caring about our children and grandchildren.”  Some didn’t want the cash.

Once the surveys were being analyzed I called MIPH to ask if they had ever administered the survey to prevention or treatment folks in the same community that they surveyed.  They had not but sent me 75 more surveys – we surveyed 53 prevention partners (some of Prevention Works! members, some Meth Action Team folks, Communities that Care volunteers, some Community Network and some Health and Human Services personnel and 16 treatment staff.

THE SURVEY

The survey had 10 parts –

In your community, how much of a problem do you believe each of the following is?

  • Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, other drugs – by youth – by adults

In your community, how often do you see?

  • Drunk in public – youth – adults 

To what extent do drug and alcohol use contribute to the following in your community?

  • Crashes – violent crimes

Young people can obtain alcohol and tobacco products in many different ways.  How difficult is it for teenagers in your community to...?

  • Buy, get from older person, sneak, parents give – alcohol, tobacco

People have different beliefs and rules about the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs by teenagers.  How much do you agree or disagree with each of these statements?

  • OK for youth to drink/smoke...

  • How acceptable would you rate the parents’ actions in the following situations?

  • Youth caught drinking, tell youth to use carefully

  • Parents offer, preferring youth to drink at home than other places

People have different opinions on how to handle alcohol and tobacco use by teenagers.  Please tell us if you personally favor or oppose each of the following actions:

  • Law enforcement spending more time enforcing minimum age for alcohol/tobacco

People have difference attitudes about the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs in general and preventing problems that might occur.  How much do you agree or disagree with each of these statements

  • OK for 18-21 to drink

  • In my community ok for teen to drink

  • Schools need to be more active

  • It is possible to reduce alcohol and drug problems through prevention

  • Alcohol/drug prevention programs are good investment

  • Community has the responsibility to set up prevention programs

  • All tobacco advertising should be banned

  • PSA’s are a good way to change attitudes

  • My community is not interested in changing

  • There is no sense of commitment

To help pay for substance abuse prevention services, how willing would you be to...?

  • Increase taxes on alcohol

  • Increase taxes on tobacco

  • Volunteer time to prevention

Have you heard of a tragic death of a young person due to alcohol/drugs in the last 12 months in your community?

Demographic questions

Additional comments/suggestions

The survey was analyzed and compared to what have been measured to be low and high readiness communities.  A graph was constructed on the combined scores of sections of the questionnaire.

Surprises –

Perception of use by youth of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs –survey indicates high readiness on our communities part – people seem to be aware of the problem - rates are higher that state but declining overall in the last 4 years – Are we not telling the community that most teens don’t use and not reporting when rates decline?? 

Perception of adult use – higher than high readiness communities except for tobacco use by adults

Disappointments –

Our community was lower in the perception that it is possible to reduce problems through prevention  - even though 79% thought it was possible

Clallam County residents also were less likely to believe prevention programs are a good investment because they save lives and money (82% vs. 86.2% of high readiness communities) 89% of prevention folks   88% of treatment folks 

Have we focused so much on raising awareness of the problems that we haven’t spent enough time emphasizing that prevention works and is cost effective?

Have we focused so much on the devastation caused by meth that the public feels that prevention can’t help??

The perception that 22% of the community has no interest in changing no matter what the issue and that 18% feel there is no sense of commitment in the community

Validation

The community is willing to use money for prevention – 82% think they are good investment, 89% of prevention folks, and 88% of treatment folks

The community is willing to volunteer time for prevention  -22% (above high readiness community’s rate), 64% of prevention folks, and 56% of treatment folks

Access – prevention folks thought access was easiest

Community is willing to have law enforcement be more active in monitoring alcohol and tobacco use in Clallam County – 74% of community, 77% of prev. respondents and 69% of treatment responders

Relationship of drug and alcohol use and violent crime – 35% of community, 62% of prevention folks, and 88% of treatment folks

Drinking among teens is acceptable in the community – 11% of community, 43% of prevention folks, and 31% of treatment folks

All tobacco advertising should be banned – 62% of community, 74% of prevention folks, 50% of treatment folks

Summary charts

Scores over 50 – means your community is above average compared to high readiness communities

Scores between 40 and 60 indicate high readiness

Scores below 40 indicate lower readiness

SUMMARY

Low level of commitment, residents have awareness

Are other social issues more dominant] – unemployment, economic hard times?

Lacking a belief that anything can be done about it – meth? Alcohol related deaths?

Residents don’t believe that substance abuse is okay for youth or adults – capitalize on the existing norms

Raise support for prevention  - engage law enforcement in enforcement of youth use of alcohol and tobacco, school/community taking more responsibility, key leaders taking additional roles, volunteer time, raise taxes for prevention, educate residents on prevention – cost effectiveness/research

Adolescent access – residents do not perceive adolescents as having easy access – more compliance checks, publicizing results of compliance checks more? Use youth to educate community on understanding of ease of access

Three main tasks –

Raise level of overall community commitment

Generate support of prevention

Increase perception of youth access

Survey youth

Ideas –

Use document as the basis of discussion with a variety of groups

Survey youth with same instrument

Compare with data in school surveys and behavioral risk survey just completed

Obtain training in use of public service announcements and social marketing

Develop campaign concerning the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of prevention

Develop opportunities for volunteering

Use public service announcements

Do survey in 2-3 years to measure change

Passed our Community Readiness Survey (see above summary) results – has copies of charts and other documents. Have information from school surveys about attitudes. There are community readiness instruments that assess key leaders. 

Prevention Plan –
West CAPT – How to develop a Prevention Plan. Based on a plan that was developed from UW – on left, risk factors, Adolescent Problem Behaviors influenced by risk factors.

Now that PW! is looking at a broader scope than families 0-4 – we are at the point of being able to look at Community Prevention Plan. Kinds of things we have done under community readiness – forums, PW: You’re part of it; presentation of data; presentation of risk/protective model – build community awareness and education. PW has been great mobilitization. New coalition in Sequim – PROTECT. Other coalitions as well. Needs Assessment – will do 3rd collaborative in Spring 2005 = School Survey, Community Readinesss, Child Abuse Referral, Archival, Law Enforcement, Rental Housing – many indicators that assess risk factors.

PASD has been doing NIDA study and now communities that care.
Sequim has been doing studies.
QVSD – 2000 and 2004/2005
Crescent – agreed to participate
Cape Flattery – doing all of their population.

2002 – Drug Use/Epidemiology Survey

More schools than ever are signed up to do this year’s survey (well next spring’s).

Look at ranking of prioritizing risk and protective factors (this was done at community meeting)

RISK FACTORS

1.  Family management, 2. Early initiation of Problem Behavior, 3. Extreme Economic & Social Deprivation, 4. (tie) Availability of Drugs & Community Laws & Norms.

PROTECTIVE FACTORS

1. Opportunities for protection

Best Practices – 20 years of research – do they make a difference in preventing these risk factors. Look at training, best practices in use, - continuing process of that planning. Focusing efforts – variety of decisions to make – not enough money to do everything. How do you put all the puzzle pieces together? Part of this is looking at environmental approaches – looking at media – what are kinds of things that are available for free - PSA, Radio, TV, Print Pieces. 2 Day Social Marketing Workshop in drug free communities grant application that we should hear about soon.

Evaluation Piece – we have used outside professional evaluation. Are there broader community evaluation pieces to look at? We look at data as part of evaluation process. Need to refine some tools to make applicable to curricula. Communities that Care – their evaluation methods – different concept since it is a research project.

Doesn’t talk about funding in terms of the Prevention Planning – this is a big piece of the plan – how to look at a structure for a task force on long-term funding to continue and expand prevention services.

In process of creating 501c3 status for Prevention Works – what are all the different resources that we would be open to looking at.

(Cynthia) What happens next?– Florence responded - Now that we have shifted our focus away from 0-4 only, maybe strategic planning committee and have forums to get ideas from greater membership. Task force on long-term funding – identifying community, business, community leaders, those who are the ambassadors – Community is so supportive and we have such a good reputation – in terms of changing community norms – identify funding in jurisdictions.

Call for creative thinking – how to pull business community, law enforcement – big picture thinking.

Reports (please limit to 2 minutes if possible)

·         What's happening in the West End - Ida Carroll

o       Summer School program in QVSD. Popular and well attended.
§         Elementary teacher – orienting some of the classwork around science.
§         Reading and math help and giving kids something to do.
 

o       Steve Goll – planning to bring back mentorship program – wasn’t a huge hit with older kids – maybe because it was the first go of it.
§         Start with younger kids and continue for several years

o       Forks Abuse

o       Sunshine & Rainbows – looking at funding and volunteering

o       How odd, but true it is that the kids – don’t have practical common sense on how to do things. Teen Center – kids are learning how to actually do things.

o       Still struggling with meth use/drug alcohol issues. CPS office going through a lot of changes. Economic issues

o       Training completed over the weekend for Medical Interpreters. Funding through Rural Health Grant through Olympic Medical Center. Patsy Brown coordinated training and brought in outside trainer. 2 Day Training. 24 1st day, 20 completed.

·         Labels for Education Committee - Nancy Martin

o       Everything is ready to go back to the Foundation for Early Learning. Their criteria is: 1. Most needy providers (family home providers). 2. Anybody that is in the TEACH program automatically in the competition (4 providers). TEACH – also a FEL program that is collaborative effort with colleges, to work towards degree in early childhood. 3. Can not have received a grant from Parentline – this will eliminate a lot of providers – recruitment/retention grant 15 grants in 2 counties. 4. Center directors – support staff in higher education. Database has been sent to Garrison. Waiting to hear back from him. Martha Standley also involved.

  • Campbell Soup Labels – that have been donated to the Foundation for Early Learning – winners will be given 50,000 points and can buy supplies, equipment – will send in list of what they’d like to order. FEL does ordering.

·         Free soup supper – elderly – Soup’s On at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church. Free medical clinic as well.

·         Ellen Fetchiet - idea for upcoming PW involvement in schools

o       PASD has had special education advisory committee – ways to improve special ed services. Met with Lydia Harrison – consultant with ESD – works with parents a lot FEPP (Family Education Partnership Project) – to invite Jeff Colvin (University of Washington) to come in to community to put on a training – target school admin, staff and parents – one of Jeff’s things is to work at finding one behavior that needs to be changed. Works with Gerald Patterson (U of O) and other special educators. Intended to do something in the spring – can’t pull something off until fall. Emotional behavioral issues – many of these kids are excluded from things. Nationwide trend – to do school wide discipline and intervention – build positive supports in the school.

o       Discussion of PW jointly sponsor or participate in some way –

o       Norma asked what it would entail – not sure at this point. Ellen mentioned someone on board to work with Linda Williams (Special Ed).

  • Parenting Education-Karen Meyer – Meeting Thursday June 17 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. United Way Conference Room – Most urgent – nailing down date for Parent Ed Summit with Kevin Haggerty – Oct. 1 and Oct. 15. Not charging. Community Youth Development Study. Presenting to parent educators. Compiling list of parent education offerings – waiting for network funding. June 2004-May 2005.
    • Guiding Good Choices – CTC has an approved plan – offering Parents Who Care and Guiding Good Choices – 3 day training in September. No dates yet. Open county wide – max is 24. Sending 4 trainers.
  • Rock N Roll-Susan Hillgren – No report.
  • KEYS-Elna Kawal & Kathleen Dionne – No report.
  • Membership-Gwen Cole – No report – Norma and Gwen are redefining committee. Creating new name. Will report at board meeting.
  • Home Visiting-Pam Arnott – No report
  • Publicity-Jim Borte – No report
  • Strategic Planning-Connie Hyatt & Norma Turner - No report

Announcements

Rachel – some union pieces (through Florence) that she is dealing with on Tobacco ordinance.

Danetta Rutten - Asked if PW would co-sponsor the Suicide Training 6/22/04 – Motion carried to co-sponsor.

Jane Shefler still working on 501c3 for us.

Norma – going to work on setting up planning committee to look at concept – what do we need to know that we have all programs working with 0-1 – to coordinate and go ask for big bucks. Universal Home Visiting – looking for outside folks.

Ellen – trainings this summer – brochures passed out

Carol Featherstone – find out more about what is going on in the community.

Program committee met - Date of next meeting - Monday, September 13, 2004 – Tentative Program - Jefferson County Olds Model.

Adjourn

Respectfully submitted,
Shaine Schramling
Secretary

If there are corrections, please e-mail Shaine Schramling (shaines@nwinet.com)