The Aberdeen School District in Grays Harbor County is one of eighteen
recipients of the Washington State Incentive Grant (SIG). SIG funds are
allocated to communities to prevent the use, misuse and abuse of alcohol,
tobacco, marijuana and other drugs by Washington State youth. Community grantees
are expected to make their local prevention system more effective by
establishing prevention partnerships, using a risk and protective factor
framework for data driven needs assessments, and by implementing and monitoring
science-based prevention programs. This report documents the Aberdeen School
District's efforts toward prevention system change during the first two years
of its SIG funding.
Challenges
Aberdeen, a rural town of 16,420 population on Washington's Pacific Coast,
has experienced two periods of drastic downsizing in the timber industry in the
last twenty years, and sharp declines in the fishing industry as well. The
entire coastal area suffers from a lack of opportunity compared to other areas
in the state; unemployment is at 8%. Aberdeen's higher than average rates of
poverty and substance abuse are blamed for the area's high rates of domestic
violence and child abuse. Grays Harbor County's rates of adults in alcohol or
other drug treatment, domestic violence, and child abuse are all significantly
higher than state rates. Youth substance abuse is also high, with juvenile drug
arrest rates higher than those for similar counties and juvenile alcohol arrest
rates over twice that of the state rate.
Prevention History and Resources
Prior to the State Incentive Grant, prevention services at the elementary
school level were primarily provided by the Aberdeen Police Department through
the D.A.R.E. (Drug Awareness and Resistance Education) program. Aberdeen was the
second D.A.R.E. site in Washington State, and many residents are proud of the
D.A.R.E. program. Educational Service District 113 (ESD 113) provides
prevention, intervention, and treatment services, through the True North
program, for high school students. The school district was familiar with
prevention in general and coordinated with prevention partners, but had not used
data for planning, implemented science-based programs, nor had it evaluated
program outcomes.
Prevention Program
The Aberdeen School District principals' work group felt that the goals of
the prevention program, Families and Schools Together (FAST), were a good fit
for the risks faced by their at-risk elementary school students and families.
This is the only prevention program provided through SIG funds in the Aberdeen
School District.
Prioritized Risk and Protective Factors
A work group of Aberdeen School District principals prioritized risk and
protective factors based on the WSSAHB and their experience with the community
and the children they serve.
Risk Factors
Friends who engage in the problem behavior
Family history of the problem behavior
Family management problems
Family conflict
Protective Factors
Bonding: Family Attachment
Bonding: School Attachment
Progress toward SIG Community Level Objectives Objective 1: To establish partnerships...to collaborate at
the local level to prevent alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drug use,
misuse, and abuse by youth.
The Aberdeen School District partners with Grays Harbor Public Health and
Human Services (GHCPHHS), Educational Service District 113 (ESD 113), the
Aberdeen Police Department, and Community Mobilization against Substance Abuse (CMASA)
to provide substance abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment to its
students. GHCPHHS partners with a broad spectrum of agencies, both public and
private, to provide substance abuse prevention and education services throughout
the county.
Objective 2: To use a risk and protective factor framework to develop a
community prevention action plan...
GHCPHHS and its partners have been using a risk and protective factor
framework since 1993 to coordinate substance abuse prevention efforts.
Objective 3: To participate in joint community risk and protective
factor and resource assessment...
Every two years, Grays Harbor County partners assess the substance abuse
prevention needs of their community. Partners include GHCPHHS, Aberdeen School
District, the local CMASA office, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission,
Grays Harbor County Human Services Advisory Board, the United Way, local
businesses, as well as other partners and individuals in the county. Resource
assessment, conducted by the Community Assessment Steering Committee, is
published as the Grays Harbor County Resource Directory, by CMASA.
One consistent finding of this partnership's assessments is that the needs
of Grays Harbor County residents far outstrip the resources available, both in
terms of funding and in terms of professional personnel capable of providing
services in the community. Several respondents have stated that changes to the
state's funding formulae for substance abuse prevention services that
reflected the higher than average rates of risk factors in Grays Harbor County
would help by providing more funding and more professional resources for Grays
Harbor communities.
Objective 4: To select and implement effective prevention actions...
A workgroup of elementary school principals in the Aberdeen School District,
working with GHCPHHS, found that the family domain was not being addressed for
their students, and chose to implement the Families and Schools Together (FAST)
program at their schools.
Objective 5: To use common reporting tools...
The Aberdeen School District participates in the Washington State Survey of
Adolescent Health Behaviors. FAST pre-and post-program surveys provided and
analyzed by the Alliance for Children and Families measure FAST immediate
outcomes. Starting with Year 3 of SIG, 2001-2002, Aberdeen School District FAST
will also use the Everest Database.
Successes: The Aberdeen School District FAST teams have provided
four eight week cycles of FAST at its first site, two cycles at the
second site, and a first cycle at the third site, so far. All Aberdeen
elementary schools now participate in FAST, and teams plan to provide
at least two cycles at each of the three sites for Year 3. Two members
of the FAST team have become FAST trainers and have trained Aberdeen's
additional FAST teams, as well as presented FAST at the Washington State
School Superintendents and Principals Conference. FASTWorks, the follow-up
program for FAST parents, is gaining in parent participation and autonomy,
with one active FASTWorks group.
Download
Community Report
Click
on the PDF symbol to the left to download the brief description
to the achievements and challenges experienced in implementing
science based prevention in this community:"Aberdeen School District, Grays Harbor County Executive
Summary of Community-Level Process Evaluation Reports" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-1a (146 KB)
Click on the PDF
symbol to the left to download a description of the prevention
activities and the main community partners: "Community
Project Description for Grays Harbor County - Aberdeen School
District." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-1b (147 KB)
Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download the components
of the community plan "Project Action Plan for
Grays Harbor County - Aberdeen School District." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-1c (279 KB)
Click on the PDF
symbol to the left to download the report of the first year
activities: "Aberdeen School District, Grays
Harbor County Washington State Incentive Grant 1st year
Community - Level Evaluation 1999-2000." Publication Date: 11/2000. Report Number: 4.43-1d (222 KB)
Click on the PDF
symbol to the left to download the report of the second
year activities: "Aberdeen School District, Grays
Harbor County Washington State Incentive Grant 2nd Year
Community - Level Evaluation 2000-2001." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-1e (243 KB)
Click on the PDF
symbol to the left to download data on changes in risk and
protection factors for prevention program participants:
"Program Outcomes" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-1f (100 KB)
Click
on the PDF symbol to the left to download data on changes
in trends of risk and protection for the entire community:
"Community Outcomes Report - Grays Harbor County
-Aberdeen School District" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-1g (80 KB)
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For more ways to get in touch with the Department of Social
and Health Services, go to
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Information Web page. Technical Site Comments: DSHS Webmaster.
Copyright 2004 Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
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