Prevention In Florida

1
Prevention In Florida

• Pam Waters, Assistant Director
• Florida Alcohol Drug Abuse Association

2
Current federal and state initiatives in
prevention are focused the following important
activities

• Translating knowledge gained from science and
  experience into better practice
• Focusing prevention efforts on common objectives
• Fostering and understanding of the overlap among
  social problems
• Promoting a coordinated approach to prevention
• Harnessing the energy and commitment among
  practitioners to develop effective strategies

3
Current federal and state initiatives in
prevention, continued

• Increasing the visibility of prevention programs
  and policies
• Sustaining existing relationships among
  prevention agencies, and promoting them where
  they do not exist
• Disseminating information about effective
  prevention practices
• Increasing readiness for effective prevention
  practices

4
Prevailing Prevention Theory

• Prevailing prevention theory uses risk and
  protective factors as a unifying descriptive and
  predictive framework.
• The more risk factors a child or youth
  experiences, the more likely s/he will experience
  substance abuse and related problems in
  adolescence or young adulthood.

5
Prevailing Prevention Theory

• Many children and youth growing up in presumably
  high-risk families and environments emerge
  relatively free of problems. The reason for this,
  according to many researchers, is the presence of
  protective factors in these young people's lives.
  Protective factors balance and buffer risk
  factors.

6

• Risk and protective factors exist at every level
  at which an individual interacts with others and
  the society around him or her. One way to
  organize these factors is by six life domains
• Individual (biological and psychological
  dispositions, attitudes, values, knowledge,
  skills, problem behaviors)
• Peer (norms, activities)
• Family (function, management, bonding)
• School (bonding, climate, policy, performance)
• Community (bonding, norms, resources,
  awareness/mobilization)
• Society/environmental (norms, policy/sanctions).

7
General Guidelines for Prevention Programming

• Develop an understanding of the underlying causes
  of or factors that contribute to substance abuse
  and the strategies that can affect those
  factors.
• Identify carefully those risk factors most
  closely related to the substance abuse problems
  you have identified.

8
General Guidelines for Prevention Programming

• Select prevention strategies that sound research
  has shown are effective.
• Conduct continuous, rigorous evaluation to
  determine whether you have met your goals and
  objectives.

9
Science-Based Prevention

• Science-based refers to a process in which
  experts
• use commonly agreed upon criteria for rating
  research interventions
• come to a consensus that evaluation research
  findings are credible and can be substantiated
• This process is sometimes referred to as
  evidence- or research-based prevention.

10
Growing Interest in Science-Based Prevention

• Funders' demands for accountability
• Persistence of ineffective programs
• Maturation -- more evidence about effectiveness
  is available
• Emerging strategy of funding a discrete number of
  demonstration projects that are then replicated
  in multiple sites
• Recognition that prevention effects are not
  always benign

11
Caveats Concerning Science-Based Prevention

• This is an evolving concept
• Different science-based programs or principles
  are not necessarily equally effective
• There may not be an effective program that meets
  specific needs (needs, resources, population, or
  other circumstances)
• Use of a science-based program or principles does
  not guarantee success

12
Specific substance abuse prevention targets for
Florida are

• Reduce drug abuse by Floridas youth, ages 12-17
  by 2005 to less than 4.
• Increase the age of first-time use to 17 years of
  age or older the 2005.
• Decrease drug use in the workplace by 50 by
  2005.

13
Prevention Funding

• Department of Children and Families
• Department of Education
• Department of Health
• Department of Law Enforcement (Drug Free
  Communities Program)
• Department of Business and Professional
  Regulation (this is changing)
• Department of Juvenile Justice (delinquency
  prevention funding only)

14
(No Transcript)
15
New Florida Prevention Initiatives

• Florida Youth Survey Work Group
•   Oversees the implementation of alternating
  annual student surveys Communities that Care/
  Tobacco, and Youth Risk Behavior Surveys.
  Participants are
• Florida Office of Drug Control
• Department of Children Families
• Department of Education
• Department of Health
• Department of Juvenile Justice
• FADAA

16
New Florida Prevention Initiatives

• Florida Youth Initiative Advisory Council
• 40 Council members made up of state agency
  representatives, providers and provider
  associations
• Advises the Office of Drug Control for prevention
  matters promotes science-based prevention
  programming
• Currently is writing the multi-state agency plan
  for prevention

17
New Florida Prevention Initiatives

• New work group brought together under the
  auspices of the Office of Drug Control to
  coordinate policies, funding, and processes. Met
  for the first time in May 2000 will meet
  bimonthly.

• Interagency Workgroup for Prevention
• Florida Office of Drug Control
• Department of Children Families
• Department of Education
• Department of Health
• Department of Juvenile Justice
• Department of Law Enforcement
• Florida Highway Patrol
• FADAA
• Informed Families of Dade County

18
New Florida Prevention Initiatives

• Office of Drug Control, Advisory Council
• Council advises the Office of Drug Control on
  priorities related to total Florida Drug
  Strategy prevention, intervention, treatment and
  law enforcement.
• Meets quarterly.
• Has Prevention Subcommittee
• Members are all state agencies, providers,
  governors budget director, the Florida National
  Guard, FADAA and one consumer.

19
New Florida Prevention Initiatives

• Florida Statewide Prevention Conference Planning
  Committee
•   Currently planning the 2000 conference to be
  held at the Caribe Royale, a Disney property in
  Orlando, on November 29nd December 1st.
  November 28th will be a pre-conference meeting of
  advisory groups with an interest in prevention.

• Jim McDonough is the chair of the Planning
  Committee with representation from
• Florida Office of Drug Control
• Department of Children Families
• Department of Education
• Department of Health, Tobacco Program
• Department of Juvenile Justice
• Department of Law Enforcement
• Florida Prevention Association
• FADAA

20
What is Needed?

• Finalization of the state plan for prevention and
  follow-through on the recommendations in the
  plan
• Infrastructure needs including policy support,
  state and local organization, human resources and
  training, information exchange, technology
  support, increased fiscal resources and planning
  accountability.
• Collaboration across state agencies which sets
  the stage for local collaboration processes.
• Research and evaluate prevention services, hold
  them accountable to the goals of Florida Drug
  Control Strategy.