Category Archives: Prevention News

Families Flourishing FredMo is a community partnership between MU Extension and the Fredericktown School District aimed at providing families the opportunity to strengthen family connections and increase positive youth development.

“Families Flourishing FredMo is specifically designed to provide the most benefits to families during the transitional period when youth begin their middle school years,” Strengthening Families 10-14 Facilitator Shanna Sorg said. “The program will be available to any family with a sixth grader at Kelly A. Burlison Middle School.”

When asked why families would want to participate Sorg said, “I think the better questions would be, why would they not want to participate.”

Sorg said the program provides the opportunity for families to spend time together in a fun and interactive setting while gaining new resources to successfully navigate the teenage years.

“Families Flourishing FredMo is actually the combination of two independent programs, Botvin LifeSkills Training Lessons, which are delivered to all sixth grade students during their enrichment period at school, and Strengthening Families 10-14, a seven, 2-hour session, series,” Sorg said. “Each of the seven sessions will consist of three parts; time for a family meal which will be provided, parent/caregiver session with a separate session for youth, and a family session for parents/caregivers and youth to learn and work together.”

Sorg said the sessions are not parenting lessons. They are, however, based on parenting concepts.

“Each session is an opportunity for parents/caregivers to increase their capacity to provide a protective parenting environment for their teenager,” Sorg said. “The highly interactive parent/caregiver sessions allow parents to expand the parenting toolbox on topics such as setting limits and house rules, using consequences and encouraging good behavior.”

Sorg said the youth sessions will focus on teens learning about setting goals for their own future, following rules, parent appreciation, understanding how to resist peer-pressure and dealing with stress. She said the sessions are designed for ample time to be spent practicing skills through role playing and self-expression.

“As a parent of two young adults and a 16-year-old son, I found myself thinking several times during the Strengthening Families 10-14 training that I wished this program had been available in our area when my children transitioned into their teenage years,” Sorg said. “The practical application of the ideas and concepts could have benefited our family.”

Sorg said, while the separate parent/caregiver and youth sessions are excellent in their own areas, it is the time where families work together to expand their problem solving abilities or enhance their communication skills that she finds most exciting about the program.

“What parent of a young teen doesn’t want to be able to more effectively address problems and improve communication within their family,” Sorg said.

The sessions are administered by local Strengthening Families 10-14 facilitators. A certification class was held at the Madison County MU Extension office a few weeks ago where ten local team members stepped up to become certified in the PROSPER model.

“PROSPER stands for PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience,” Sorg said. “This delivery system links university-based prevention researchers with two established program delivery systems within a state, the Cooperative Extension system at the Land Grant University (MU Extension) and the public school system.”

Sorg said Strengthening Families 10-14 and Botvin LifeSkills Training are programs included in the PROSPER delivery model.

“The PROSPER delivery model is built locally by the partnership but is also very reliant on community partnerships,” Sorg said. “At this time our only community partner is the Madison County Opioid Task Force which has provided the connection with SEMO Prevention Resources Center who provided the funding for the Botvin LifeSkills Training curriculum for sixth graders as well as the other two grades at the middle school and three grades at the intermediate school and has also been able to provide $950 for the Galaxia online game that accompanies the LifeSkills Training lessons.”

Read full article: Families Flourishing FredMo

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid misuse and addiction continue to devastate communities around the US. And as many schools shift to remote learning, researchers at National Health Promotion Associates (NHPA) are testing a new online program to prevent drug abuse in high schools students.

The study is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and is designed to develop and test a digital version of the Botvin LifeSkills Training program to evaluate its effectiveness in preventing drug abuse and prescription drug misuse. The study will involve up to 40 high schools across the United States. The new e-learning program, called e-LST, is based on an award-winning prevention approach that has been extensively tested and proven effective when implemented in classrooms by teachers and health professionals. The new e-LST program provides teachers, parents, and students with an engaging and flexible prevention approach that can be used at home, in class, or in hybrid learning environments.

“We know that nearly 10% of high school seniors have reported misusing prescription drugs, so it’s vital we provide our youth with prevention programming that helps them avoid substance abuse, including prescription drug abuse, and that gives them the resiliency skills they need to deal with the challenges of being a teenager,” said Dr. Kenneth W. Griffin, a professor at George Mason University who is collaborating with NHPA researchers on the study. “With the COVID-19 pandemic upon us, it is clear that schools, teachers, and parents need flexible education options that include both in-class and remote learning programs. Equally important is that these programs are based on proven prevention approaches that can decrease drug abuse and other health risks that stem from common addressable causes.”

The e-LST program teaches students valuable life skills to help them avoid drug use and other health risks. The program goes beyond the traditional information that is offered in substance abuse prevention programs such as scare tactics, which are often ineffective. And its emphasis on coping skills and positive youth development is designed to promote mental health and provide students with the tools they need to develop resilience and deal with the anxiety and stress of life during a pandemic.

“NHPA is a leader in quality, effective evidence-based prevention education. While our core middle school program already has evidence demonstrating its effectiveness in reducing opioid and prescription drug misuse and abuse, the addition of a high school program will help to further address the drug epidemic facing our nation and the challenges associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, professor emeritus at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College and developer of the LST program. “More than 35 years of rigorous scientific research has proven the effectiveness of LST to reduce drug abuse and other health risks, with the potential to save taxpayers a good deal of money.”

Read full article: New Remote Learning Program to Prevent Drug Abuse

The Gilpin County Extension office recently won two grants: The Substance Abuse Block Grant and the Tony Grampsas Youth Services grant. All of the awarded money will be put towards youth workshops for Gilpin students. While many details are still in the works for both workshops, they will work to provide leadership training, substance abuse prevention, and life skills.

The Substance Abuse block grant will create a workshop that teaches students the needed skills to avoid substance abuse. Funded by the State Office of Behavioral Health, the workshop will provide evidence based-programs: “Botvin LifeSkills Training” classes and “Positive Action” curriculum. According to organizer Jacob Rippy, “Both programs provide instruction for general social, self-management, and drug-resistance skills, along with many other topics.”

The programs will be taught as follows: “Positive Action” for ages Kindergarten-2nd, lifeskills classes for grades 3-6, and separate lifeskills classes for grades 6-10. While the workshop is likely to be held in the community center, they are also considering the barn lobby, the public health building, the library, and/or Christ the King Church. Currently they are planning to start right around school’s beginning. However, if virtual learning is extended considerably (i.e. for the remainder of the semester, or longer), we will try to offer some of our programs virtually, and maybe do some small group activities if we can abide by social distancing and other current health and sanitation guidelines,” explains Rippy.

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These workshops will provide necessary tools for Gilpin students. By teaching drug abuse prevention and leadership skills, our youth will thrive during this hard time. For more details, contact the Gilpin County Extension Office.

Read full article: Youth Workshops for Gilpin Students

WHITE PLAINS, NY – With children spending time online more than ever and experts warning about a rise in cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic, educators, parents, and policymakers are searching for solutions. One solution can be found in an award-winning educational game called LST Galaxia, recently selected as an EdTech “Cool Tool” award finalist for 2020. This brand new, interactive online game for computers, smart phones or tablets is designed to prevent bullying and cyberbullying among middle-schoolers.

In this fun and engaging online game, students review, apply, and practice bystander skills, coping skills, empathy for others, and appropriate usage of social media use (including texting). The game incorporates skills taught in Botvin LifeSkills Training, a highly effective, evidence-based prevention program taught in schools throughout the US and in 39 countries around the world. Galaxia is currently part of a national 30-site randomized controlled trial testing strategies for preventing bullying and cyberbullying.

In Galaxia, students choose an avatar to represent them in the game as they confront challenges and navigate their way across the campus of Galaxia Academy, a fantastical boarding school in a distant galaxy. Under Galaxia Academy’s benevolent headmaster, Professor Galo, students are able to explore their unique talents and endless imagination. But when Professor Galo suddenly disappears, his not-so-benevolent identical twin sister, Professor Muri, takes his place as headmaster and peculiar things begin to happen. As students deal with the various challenges of middle school (such as peer pressure, drug use, and bullying), they also need to work together to thwart Professor Muri’s nefarious plans.

The EdTech Awards recognize outstanding contributions that transform education through technology and enrich the lives of learners everywhere. This year’s finalists and winners were judged based on various criteria, including pedagogical workability, efficacy and results, support, clarity, value, and potential.

“Despite formidable challenges brought about by world events—including locked-down cities, standstill travel, and closed offices, businesses and schools—we endure,” said Victor Rivero, who as Editor-in-Chief of EdTech Digest, oversees the program. “To those moving students forward across K-12, higher education, and workforce learning—in these unprecedented times we hope this recognition brings you some much-deserved joy and light to help see you through. Thank you!”

Past EdTech winners include Claned, Soundtrap, Blackboard, Discovery Education, DreamBox Learning, Edmodo, Edthena, Flipgrid, Freshgrade, Promethean, Scholastic, Schoology, SMART Technologies and more.

Read full article: New Cyberbullying Game LST Galaxia named as EdTech “Cool Tool” for 2020

The St. Louis County Police Department is phasing out its Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program as it shifts resources to other community initiatives. As a result, the Rockwood School District is replacing D.A.R.E. with the Botvin LifeSkills Training program for middle school students. The change will take for the 2020-2021 school year.

The LifeSkills Training program focuses on equipping students with skills related to personal self-management, social interactions and drug resistance. The goal is to help them enhance their self-esteem, develop problem-solving abilities, reduce stress and anxiety, and manage anger for better mental health. Additionally, students work on overcoming shyness, communicating clearly, building relationships and avoiding violence. Finally, as with the D.A.R.E. Program, students learn techniques to resist the pressures to use tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.

Rockwood Drug-Free Coalition Coordinator Lili Schliesser said the LifeSkills Training program will look very similar to D.A.R.E.

“We’re going to keep everything in place,” she said. “The officers that have been teaching D.A.R.E. will continue to teach prevention programs for fifth-graders. (The program) will continue to be 10 weeks long. Students will still have graduations where parents can come.”

Schliesser said that, when the district started researching DARE replacements, the Botvin LifeSkills Training program had the highest ratings as far as outcomes for students.

The district will hold two days of training sessions, July 23 and 24, for school resource officers to prepare them to teach the LifeSkills system once the school year starts in August.

“The LifeSkills program is based on personal development and mental health that will lead to making positive choices,” Schliesser said. “When we’re looking at prevention education – especially at the younger level – when it’s a skill-based program, this is more effective than saying, ‘Here’s a substance, and here’s why it’s bad.’ Through this approach, we’re preparing kids more for when they’re going to encounter drugs and alcohol.”

KAMIAH – The Upriver Youth Leadership Council (UYLC) in Kamiah announced Thursday that it has been awarded a one year, $15,000 grant from the New York Life Foundation to support its Teen Center program. The grant program is focused on supporting middle school students as they transition to 9th grade.

The main purpose of this funding is to incorporate Botvin LifeSkills Curriculum, Botvin Prescription Drug Abuse Module Curriculum, Strengthening Families Program, Mini-YAB program, and healthy snack and meal preparation skills components into services already provided by UYLC to aid in their objectives of reducing youth drug and alcohol misuse.

The grant is one of 26 new grants this year from the New York Life Foundation’s “Aim High” program, a partnership with the Afterschool Alliance. This year’s new grants total $1.35 million, and went to youth development organizations in 16 states and the District of Columbia. The organizations were selected from a total of 542 applicants.

The grants mark the fourth year of awards made under the Foundation’s Aim High education initiative, and this year’s grants bring the total awarded under the program to $4.8 million.

The grant to UYLC will support:

Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) is an evidence-based substance abuse and violence prevention program. LST has been extensively tested and proven effective at reducing tobacco, alcohol, opioid, and illicit drug use by as much as 80%. Long-term follow-up studies show it produces prevention effects that are durable and long- lasting.

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This year’s grant applicants were asked to submit plans for supporting youth in expanded or enhanced ways to help them successfully transition to high school. As in years past, applicants seeking one-year, $15,000 grants had a special focus: supporting opioid misuse prevention. Across the country, in communities struggling with the misuse of opioids and other substances, afterschool and summer learning programs are playing a critical role by fostering protective factors, increasing resilience among young people, supporting positive youth development, and reducing risk factors among children and youth. Grants will help programs build protective and preventive factors, reduce risk factors for youth and provide other supports for young people and families impacted by substance misuse and the opioid epidemic.

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WESTCLIFFE, CO — After hearing passionate pleas from community members Monday, the Custer County School Board voted unanimously to accept a $500,000 life-skills grant that will address suicide, substance abuse and violence prevention for students here.

The Custer County School Board initially declined to accept the grant last week after a motion to approve the grant failed for lack of a second. About 50 community members attended a special meeting Monday with many urging the board to accept the grant before the July 1 deadline.

“We had an excellent amount of community support and many eloquent speakers advocating for our school and our kids,” said Joe Vergilio, Custer County Consolidated School principal. “It was an outpouring of great kindness from the community.”

Vergilio said one woman’s story nearly moved him to tears.

The $500,000 Botvin LifeSkills Training grant is funded by federal dollars which are administered by the state at a rate of $100,000 a year for five years. Custer County School District administrators, in partnership with the Custer County Public Health Department, proposed to use the grant to fund one full-time teacher and two part-time administrators.

The school board initially had expressed displeasure with school officials for not giving them warning about the grant during the budgeting process and not knowing the full extent of the Custer County Public Health agency’s involvement in administering the grant.

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World No Tobacco Day is a national event that informs the public about the dangers of tobacco use. This year, due to COVID-19 school closings, World No Tobacco Day was observed by Glen Cove Elementary and Middle School students enrolled in SAFE’s LifeSkills Training (LST) virtual workshops offered through the Glen Cove Youth Bureau’s After 3 program.

This year’s theme was to make youth aware of the tobacco industry’s efforts to market their deadly product to youth, and for youth to speak out against the deceptive messages and make their voices heard. For the past decade SAFE and their partner, Tobacco Action Coalition of LI, Community Engagement Specialist Carol Meschkow have been collaborating with the Schools and the Glen Cove Youth Bureau to educate the local teens to be weary of the lure of Point of Sale marketing, and the dangers of all flavored tobacco products. Annually for World No Tobacco Day the partners have been bringing youth centered interactive programs to the community to afford an opportunity for youth to make their collective voices heard against the marketing tactics they have been exposed to in their neighborhoods retail establishments.

SAFE, Social Worker/Life Skills Trainer, Francesca Carbone and her students celebrated the day through a program to dispelling the myths and exposing the manipulation tactics employed by the “Big Tobacco” in their marketing ploy to target youth, including through the introduction of new and novel products, flavors and other attractive features. In addition, the teens were given an activity to create pictures or flyers to convey the need to either “Stop Tobacco Myths”, or “End the Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products” and submit with a Selfie or take the Challenge, to create a 20-30 second announcement video using the above messages, and submit either a video, or written copy with a Selfie holding it up.

“I was very pleased and impressed with the students’ knowledge, understanding, and lively participation. Despite zoom instruction their interaction was tremendous. The Activity and Challenge added another dimension and opportunity to reinforce the lesson while offering the youth an opportunity to express themselves in fun way” commented Ms. Carbone.

“Our teens have shown great commitment to the LST program. The addition of LST has really enriched our After 3 programing as well; and we are most fortunate to have Francesca spearheading Life Skills alongside After-3 Coordinator-Carolina Guastella”, said Youth Bureau, Executive Director Spiro Tsirkas. “The professionals really work together seamlessly as a solid team and relate to such a degree with the teens, that as a result they have been able to make a huge impact on the youth’s awareness of the issue and desire to make a change.”

“I highly commend SAFE and the Youth Bureau for keeping connected and continuing to share the messaging with local youth despite the restrictions of the Pandemic. Successfully including elementary school students prior to reaching thirteen years old, which is the average age of a new smoker, was most gratifying as it been the collective goal of the partners to drive the messaging down regarding the strategies employed by the Tobacco Industry at the Point-of-Sale, including at their trusted pharmacies”, commented Ms. Meschkow. Further, “The World No Tobacco Day” Theme for 2020 was a real win-win as it coincided with the end of the sale of flavored e-cigarettes as well as the sale of all tobacco products in pharmacies. The partner’s on-going educational work with the youth profoundly demonstrated to the teens the fruits of the collaborative efforts of grassroots (including them), community leaders and elected representatives in seeing this come to fruition.

LST is proven to reduce alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and violence while supporting the social and emotional development of youth. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 2 of every 100 middle school students (2.3%) reported in 2019 that they smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days—a decrease from 4.3% in 2011. Additionally, about 6 of every 100 high school students (5.8%) reported in 2019 that they smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days—another decrease from 15.8% in 2011. It is important to educate youth through prevention education programs to foster and develop healthy decision making.

In the last 50 years, an estimated 20 million Americans have died prematurely due to tobacco-caused illnesses. For Quit Help contact the NYS Quit Line at: 1-866-NYS-Quit.

To learn more about SAFE and the SAFE Glen Cove Coalition please follow us on www.facebook.com/safeglencovec… or visit SAFE’s website at www.safeglencove.org.

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MISSOURI – Starting this fall, drug and alcohol prevention education will have a new look for Rockwood School District fifth-graders. 

The St. Louis County Police Department is phasing out the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program as it shifts resources to other community initiatives. As a result, Rockwood is replacing DARE with LifeSkills Training for the 2020-2021 school year.

“We’re going to keep everything in place. The officers that have been teaching DARE will continue to teach prevention programs for fifth-graders,” said Rockwood Drug-Free Coalition Coordinator Lili Schliesser. “It will continue to be 10 weeks long. Students will still have graduations where parents can come. It’s going to look very much the same as it has.”

Schliesser said that, when the district started researching DARE replacements, LifeSkills had the highest ratings as far as outcomes for students. Rockwood will hold two days of training sessions, July 23 and 24, for school resource officers to prepare them to teach the LifeSkills system once the school year starts in August.

“The LifeSkills program is based on personal development and mental health that will lead to making positive choices: enhancing self-esteem, developing problem-solving skills, reducing stress and anxiety, how they manage anger,” Schliesser said. “When we’re looking at prevention education – especially at the younger level – when it’s a skill-based program, this is more effective than saying, ‘Here’s a substance, and here’s why it’s bad.’ Through this approach, we’re preparing kids more for when they’re going to encounter drugs and alcohol.”

Drug-specific education is delivered to Rockwood students from fifth grade through high school by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (NCADA). Marijuana, tobacco and alcohol are covered for fifth-graders, before introducing prevention education dealing with different drugs in middle and high school.

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(featured on ABC-15 Arizona)

TEMPE, AZ — Dealing with a pandemic when the nation is still struggling through an epidemic.

Opioid use is still something communities are trying to get under control, including right here in Arizona.

But isolation, stay-at-home orders, and fear are fuel for substance abuse.

The Rebound Arizona is looking into how East Valley organizations are coming together virtually to continue to tackle the crisis.

“We’ve had this pandemic and now we have some really incredible and disturbing racial injustice,” said Kristen Scharlau. “Oh my gosh.”

Scharlau is a Human Services Manager in Tempe and oversees the CARE 7 program.

They are part of the Tempe Coalition who recently received nearly $30,000 from the State Opioid Response Grant to help those suffering.

The Rebound Arizona’s Megan Thompson asked Scharlau about whether or not CARE 7 is preparing for a wave of new issues or if it is something they are already dealing with.

“Already something we’re seeing,” Scharlau immediately responded. “… I think what we’re seeing is people just numbing their pain. People who are bored. People who are scared.”

Scharlau said CARE 7 is using the funding for case management. They are checking in and finding treatment programs for those struggling with opioid and substance abuse.

They are also working to create training programs for police officers and first responders who are on mental health calls.

“I think that one of the things that’s easy to forget when you’re a first responder is there’s a human,” Scharlau said. “That’s a human.”

notMYkid is a Valley non-profit that is focused on prevention in teens. They will be using some of that grant money for a summer online program called (Botvin) LifeSkills Training.

“We know that typically whenever someone gets bored, that’s when they start experimenting with something that is not for their best interest,” notMYkid Prevention Specialist Tomas Barraza explained. “So we want to keep them engaged.”

The Tempe Coalition has more plans with other local organizations to use the grant funding in the fight against the opioid crisis.

This is a list on where else the money will go:

• Providing automated prescription dispensers to seniors
• Case management for individuals with drug related crimes
• Prescriber/pharmacist training
• Youth prevention support groups
• Naloxone training (to include dissemination of naloxone)
• Training in safe disposal of prescriptions

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