Spokane County Community Services Division 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
The SIG project is situated in Spokane's East Central Neighborhood, which
is one of the oldest in the city. Youth in this neighborhood experience many
factors placing them at higher risk for using or abusing substances. The
neighborhood has two community centers, both of which participate in the SIG
project. East Central Community Center (ECCC) receives the bulk of its funding
from the city of Spokane. Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Outreach Center (MLK)
is a private, non-profit organization. In addition to providing SIG-funded
activities at the two community centers, Washington State University's Spokane
County Cooperative Extension offers a parenting education program for families
throughout the city, focusing on families in the East Central Neighborhood.
Prevention History
Spokane County used the risk and protective factor model to assess needs
based on key informant surveys. The county contracts for prevention services
from a variety of agencies and schools. There appears to be little collaboration
among agencies around prevention funding, planning, delivery, and monitoring,
except for the SIG project. No school survey data is available in the City of
Spokane because the school district does not allow administration of the survey.
Progress toward Community Level Objectives
Objective 1: Establish partnerships...
SIG expanded the local prevention partnership to include the community
centers and Spokane County Cooperative Extension. The SIG Advisory Board created
a mission statement and by-laws.
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.
The SIG community grantee, Spokane County's Community Services Division, is
familiar with using the risk and protective factor framework and with using data
for needs and resources assessments. Spokane County Community Services Division
led the local 2001 collaborative needs assessment process, which encouraged
local prevention partners to share data and collaborate in prevention planning.
Objective 4: Select and implement effective prevention actions...
This objective refers to implementing prevention programs that have been
shown to be effective through research. The concept of using science-based
prevention programs, shown to be effective across venues and populations, was
introduced to the East Central Neighborhood through SIG. Two science-based
prevention programs were implemented: the Nurturing Program and the Family
Advocacy Network program.
Objective 5: To use common reporting tools...
Reporting tools are used to measure the effectiveness of prevention programs.
At the program level, Spokane had available through SIG the Everest program
outcome monitoring system. The practice of evaluating prevention program
outcomes using pre-tests and post-tests at the program level was new to Spokane
with SIG. Neither the county nor the neighborhood have access to data from the
Washington State Survey of Adolescent Health Behavior, as the local school
district, Spokane School District 81, refuses to participate in the survey. Both
Everest and the survey measure risk and protective factors. The survey also
measures substance abuse prevalence.
Successes
Two major contributions of SIG to Spokane's prevention system are the
introduction of science-based programs and program evaluation. All of the
prevention programs met or nearly met their participation goals. Over 100 youth
and at least 30 parents benefited from prevention programs at the two community
centers. Leadership skills have evolved among participants. Examples of
institutionalization of science-based programs in Spokane are that Children's
Home Society used the Nurturing Program for two classes, and the program may be
offered as an after-school program in Spokane School District 81.
Challenges
Staff turnover continued through the second year of the SIG project at both
MLK and ECCC. Leadership has remained constant at ECCC, but there have been
three directors at MLK since the inception of the project. Turnover of program
staff has been high at both centers. It is impossible to know the reason without
further inquiry, but there was a decrease in youth participation levels after
staff departures. Staff turnover is costly because all instructors need to be
trained in the programs they are to provide. Establishing trust and open
communication in the midst of It has been difficult to develop trust and open
communication in the midst of changing staff composition.
There are few eligible mentors who are willing to work with at-risk youth and
to commit the amount of time required. This factor and the complexity of the
Across Ages program led to the revision of the program.
It continues to be difficult to recruit and engage parents in prevention
programs. Many factors contribute to this, including work schedules, defensive
attitudes, and social barriers.
Conclusion
Spokane County Community Services Division has shown progress toward
achieving all of the community level objectives established by the Governor's
Substance Abuse Advisory Committee. During the last year of SIG community
funding, Spokane's challenge will be finding ways to institutionalize the
changes they have achieved under SIG in its system of prevention program
planning, funding, implementation, and monitoring.
Several families in Spokane County learned valuable family management skills.
During the Nurturing Program, families are asked to draw their image of home
life at both the beginning and end of the program. The child of one family who
participated provided a poignant example of how such programs affect individual
lives. This child's picture was totally black at the program's beginning.
The child's drawing at the end of the program was half black and half yellow.
When asked about the difference between the two drawings, the child explained,
"Now there is some sunshine in my life."
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: "Spokane County Community
Services, Spokane County Executive Summary of Community-Level Process
Evaluation Reports" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-14a (136 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 Spokane County - Spokane County Community
Services." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-14b (136 KB)
Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download the components of
the community plan:"Project Action Plan for Spokane County -
Spokane County Community Services." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-14c (298 KB)
Click
on the PDF symbol to the left to download the report of the first
year activities: "Spokane County Community Services, Spokane
County Washington State Incentive Grant 1st year Community - Level
Evaluation 1999-2000." Publication Date: 11/2000. Report Number: 4.43-14d (222 KB)
Click
on the PDF symbol to the left to download the report of the second
year activities: Spokane County Community Services, Spokane County
Washington State Incentive Grant 2nd Year Community - Level Evaluation
2000-2001." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-14e (247 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: 4.43-14f (106 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 - Spokane County - Spokane County Community Services." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-14g (74 KB)
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Related Information
Link to
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Copyright 2004 Washington State Department of Social and Health Services.
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