The Orcas Island Prevention Project 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.
Project Site
Orcas Island, in San Juan County, is a popular retirement location. In
addition, young, working families who are primarily dependent on tourism
and the service industry for their livelihood also comprise a large
portion of the population. In recent years, there has been an influx of
wealthier families and individuals, raising the cost of living on the
island.
The Orcas Island Prevention Project serves a rural community
consisting primarily of retirees and young working families who must
depend on tourism and the service industry for their livelihood. The use
of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs is viewed by many youth and young
adults as an easy way to "kill time." In addition, Orcas Island community
norms are somewhat permissive toward drug and alcohol use, misuse, and
abuse. SIG has brought to the community two prevention programs, one based
in the schools and one housed in the FunHouse, a newly established,
youth-oriented activity center.
Prevention History
Prior to SIG, collaboration and cooperation between local prevention
providers and agencies occurred through the Orcas Island Substance Abuse
Prevention Task Force. The task force has given Orcas Island community members
and service providers the opportunity to gather and share ideas, communicate
awareness, reach out to the community, and more effectively help those youth and
families in need. SIG's focus on prevention planning and partnerships matched
the efforts that were currently taking place on Orcas Island. The task force had
used the risk and protective factor model for organizing data and planning
prevention services. SIG introduced science-based programs to the area.
Progress toward Community Level Objectives Objective 1: Establish partnerships...
The role of SIG funding has been to reinforce and publicize prevention
partnerships already existing in the Orcas Island community. The Orcas Island
Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force draws its members from all of Orcas
Island, including service providers, agency decision makers, concerned parents,
and community leaders.
Objectives 2 and 3: Use a risk and protective factor framework for
planning and participate in joint community risk and protective factor and
resource assessment.
A large portion of the prevention community embraces the risk and protective
factor framework. It is used in prevention planning and when applying for
additional funds. The framework had been introduced and used before SIG funding
was received. Before SIG, the Orcas Island Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force
community based its action plan on a process that included a needs and resource
assessment and the identification of target populations. In hopes of
establishing more effective structures for prevention organizations on Orcas
Island, the Task Force has conducted retreats and planning meetings to discuss
and prioritize outcomes and strategies. Prevention planning before SIG did not
include Washington State Survey of Adolescent Health Behavior results.
Objective 4: Select and implement effective prevention actions...
The SIG process encouraged the choice of programs shown through published
research to be effective in different locales and with multiple populations.
These are known as research-based programs. The programs Orcas Island selected
to address their prioritized risk and protective factors include the following:
Second Step Program. Classroom teachers, counselors, and parent
volunteers present the Second Step curriculum to K-8th grade classes. The
program empowers youth with the skills to control their behavior and to
establish positive relationships with each other. According to respondents,
there is a positive change in how youth deal with problematic issues, and
disciplinary referrals have decreased.
Second Step Program, Parenting Component. Parenting classes led by
school counselors are available for parents in need.
The SMART Moves Program. Rated by federal researchers as one of the
most effective drug prevention programs in the nation, the SMART Moves program
is a curriculum-based program that uses role-playing, group activities, and
discussion. During the first year of SIG funding, the program was housed in a
school library and had low participation. With a second-year move to a
community center for youth, the Orcas Island FunHouse, 20 to 25 youth are
involved in the SMART Moves program. A challenge is that many of the older
students in the program have received similar information from other
prevention/education programs. A meeting with the Orcas Island Prevention
Specialist is planned in order to address this issue.
Objective 5: To use common reporting tools...
One of the requirements for participating in the SIG project was to
participate in the Washington State Survey of Adolescent Health Behavior.
Survey data provide cross-sectional substance abuse prevalence rates and
measures of risk and protective factors among 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12 grade
students. Orcas Island schools participated as required in this measurement of
community level outcomes.
According to respondents, this objective is not being met around program
level outcomes. Prevention providers were often focused on their own
evaluation requirements and reporting, and therefore did not regularly
participate in the use of the Everest program outcome monitoring system,
developed during SIG and pilot tested by SIG community grantees. However,
pre-tests were administered at the beginning of Year 2 (2000-2001), and
post-tests will be administered at the end of the year.
Conclusion
The Orcas Island school and prevention community have made substantial
progress toward achieving the community level objectives, as established by
the Governor's Substance Abuse Advisory Committee. During the last year of SIG
community funding, the Orcas Island Prevention Project intends to continue
moving toward institutionalizing some of the changes they have achieved in the
system of prevention planning, funding, implementation, and monitoring
developed under SIG.
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: "Orcas Island School
District, San Juan County Executive Summary of Community-Level
Process Evaluation Reports" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-10a ( 145 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 San Juan County - Orcas Island School
District." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-10b (143 KB)
Click on the PDF symbol
to the left to download the components of the community
plan: "Project Action Plan for San Juan County - Orcas
Island School District ." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-10c (281 KB)
Click on the PDF symbol
to the left to download the report of the first year activities:
"Orcas Island School District, San Juan County Washington
State Incentive Grant 1st year Community - Level Evaluation
1999-2000." Publication Date: 11/2000. Report Number: 4.43-10d (209 KB)
Click on the PDF symbol
to the left to download the report of the second year activities
"Orcas Island School District, San Juan County Washington State Incentive Grant 2nd Year Community
- Level Evaluation 2000-2001."Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-10e (259 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: 4.43-10f (107 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 - San Juan County - Orcas Island School
District" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-10g (75 KB)
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Related Information
Link to
website providing additional
information
about San Juan
county
For more ways to get in touch with the Department of Social
and Health Services, go to
the DSHS Contact
Information Web page. Technical Site Comments: DSHS Webmaster.
Copyright 2004 Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
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