Comprehensive Prevention Planning
Virtually all schools recognize the value of strategic planning, feasibility studies and needs assessments in areas such as fundraising, curriculum development and facilities management. Yet fewer schools adopt this approach when it comes to addressing the myriad factors that lead students towards or away from substance abuse, e.g., adult attitudes and messages, counseling and health care systems, discipline policies, levels of stress and tolerance, intervention mechanisms, normative beliefs, parent involvement. Comprehensive prevention planning, by addressing all of these elements, creates a whole greater than the sum of the parts-a school climate that supports and encourages non-use and healthy decision making. Successful plans:
- Engage the entire community
- Change normative beliefs within the school
- Establish consistent rules, expectations and consequences
- Integrate health and discipline systems
- Address known risk factors and reasons kids use drugs
- Provide accurate, ongoing, age-appropriate drug education
- Teach intervention strategies
- Promote healthy, alternative ways to get "high."
Using a systematic approach, FCD prevention specialists can:
- Evaluate your current substance abuse prevention programs, policies and procedures
- Conduct a needs assessment to uncover perceptions and target priorities
- Recommend strategies and structures to strengthen the effectiveness of your approach and guide the implementation of a proactive plan
- Offer ongoing support and review.
The process is best understood by looking at its individual components:
Prevention Assessment
Because no two schools are alike, we tailor our approach to fit each school's particular needs, priorities and resources. The process typically begins with a two-day visit to the school by an FCD prevention specialist. In-depth interviews and informal surveys conducted with members of the school's various constituencies generate a picture of existing programs, policies and procedures, as well as community attitudes and behaviors. Based on the data collected, FCD creates a detailed written report that: a) provides a picture of the school's current prevention climate; b) identifies areas requiring further inquiry; and c) recommends strategies and structures to strengthen the effectiveness of the school's plan.
Attitudes and Behavior Surveys
FCD's Prevention Assessment may suggest a need for more formal research in order to accurately determine prevention priorities. Our validated surveys, based on the normative beliefs model and developed in collaboration with leading experts in the field, are valuable tools for understanding the school community, benchmarking levels of student use in comparison to national norms, identifying gaps between actual and perceived behaviors and attitudes, and measuring progress as the plan evolves.
Implementation and Monitoring
During this phase, which may occur over a number of years, FCD works with the school to implement the individual elements of the plan. These may include early intervention health systems and intervention training; policies and procedures definition; heightened parental involvement; student and faculty education; healthy alternatives to alcohol and other drug use; and normative beliefs interventions.
As experts from outside the school community, FCD has the breadth and depth of experience to guide the process, identify priorities, ask the tough questions that need to be asked and say the tough things that need to be said.
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