PROVEN PROCESS TO REDUCE TEEN DELINQUENCY, DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE

Johnstown, PA (June 17, 2014) –The good news about young people and alcohol in Cambria County is that fewer children in grades 6 and 8 are choosing to experiment with and/or drink alcohol regularly, according to the 2013 Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS). The problem is the number of kids trying alcohol at least once between grades 8 and 10 nearly doubled to 65 percent and climbed to 78 percent among high school seniors.  Two of every five or 42 percent of 12th graders in Cambria County admitted to drinking alcohol regularly in 2013.  PAYS is a survey of over 4000 middle and high school students, representing every school district in Cambria County. 

“There is a party every weekend. Sometimes parents throw the party and even party with us!” said a mix of 50 high school students taking part in the first of a series of youth summits conducted by the newly formed Cambria County Prevention Coalition. The summit was held in the central part of Cambria County in May and included students from six public and non-public high schools.  Similar summits are planned for the northern and southern tiers of the county.

“Every community deals with drugs and alcohol. No one is immune from its effects. We wanted to see if the kids said the same things that the PAYS data was showing,” said Marlene Singer, community health coordinator, Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center Office of Community Health, and coalition member. 

The Cambria County Prevention Coalition is an initiative of the Cambria County Health and Welfare Council and aims to systematically collect data associated with drug and alcohol use, delinquency and violence involving young people and map out a plan to help kids make healthier decisions.  The effort is not just a haphazard approach of good-intentioned people interested in helping kids; the Coalition is following the “Communities That Care” (CTC) process.  

CTC is a research-based, community-action model proven to improve the quality of community planning, collaboration and decision making for positive youth development and prevention of adolescent health and behavior problems, such as alcohol and other drug use, delinquency, dropping out of school, teen pregnancy and violence. The process began with formation of a steering committee in September 2013, followed by a CTC informational meeting and creation of a Key Leader Board in February 2014.  The board is tasked with reviewing the Coalition’s progress throughout the up to two-year CTC process.

“A five-year longitudinal study of young people in Pennsylvania found that kids in CTC communities where carefully selected evidence-based programs were implemented had significantly lower rates of delinquency,  were more resistant to negative peer influence, more engaged in school and actually performed better academically than peers in non-CTC communities,” said Paula Eppley-Newman, Coalition Chairman.  “So if we do this right, we know it can make a difference.” 

An all volunteer effort, the Cambria County Prevention Coalition is guided by a CTC consultant from the EPISCenter (Evidence Based Prevention and Intervention Support Center) at Penn State.  The EPISCenter is a collaborative partnership between the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and the Prevention Research Center, College of Health and Human Development at Penn State.  

“The support and training we’re receiving from the EPISCenter is invaluable.  It gives us a proven formula to follow,” explained Eppley-Newman. “But we need more representation from all segments of the community throughout Cambria County if we’re going to create and implement an action plan that has impact.”

The Cambria County Prevention Coalition is seeking  educators, providers of family and youth services, community service  and civic organizations, mental health services, law enforcement, city and county government, health care professionals, members of the media, faith-based organizations, business people  and, of course, parents and youth to become involved in the CTC process.  Members will conduct a county-wide needs and resources assessment, examine PAYS and other data, assess risk and protective factors, seek and apply for funding and create a community action plan for implementing and evaluating tested, effective programs and practices that help young people make good decisions for their lives.