Resources - Online Prevention News E-Newsletter - Volume 3, Issue 8, June 16, 2005

Latest Update on the 2005 Wisconsin State Prevention Conference
Register now for the 2005 Wisconsin State Prevention Conference. The deadline for early-bird rates is fast approaching, but you still have time to register at the reduced rate before June 24! Workshops are beginning to fill, so be sure to register as soon as you can to assure yourself space in those you most want to attend. "Weaving a Tapestry of Health: Promoting Change Through Action" is being held August 8-11, 2005, in Wisconsin Rapids, and it's going to be an exciting week. Among the workshops that may interest you are:

Local panelists discuss the importance of fathers to children and society in Fathers: The Integral Fabric of Whole Parenting.
Working with Hmong Families, presented by UW-Extension educators.
Learn about successful uses of the social norms approach in reducing drinking and tobacco use, teen pregnancy prevention, etc. Michael Haines, Director of the National Social Norms Resource Center at Northern Illinois University presents The Social Norms Approach: Effective, Empowering, Evidence-Based Prevention.
How Genetics and Brain Science Can Enhance Substance Abuse Prevention Efforts, presented by Dr. Michael Bohn, looks at recent advances in brain science and addiction.
Jackie Kendall, Executive Director of the Midwest Academy, presents Creating Support for an Issue Campaign.
The Executive Director of Barron County Restorative Justice, Polly Wolner, will explore Restorative Practices in Your School, looking at how to help those in our schools and communities think about responsibility and accountability.
Simple Gifts: Low-Cost & No-Cost Proven Prevention Strategies, presented by Dennis Embry, Ph.D., of the PAXIS Institute, will look at low- or no-cost evidence-based strategies that can work in dealing with substance abuse, delinquency, and criminal behavior problems.

These represent only a part of all that is offered throughout the conference. Also, the Training Institute, which begins on Monday, August 8, features five extended workshops including: Sticks n' Stones Bullying Prevention Facilitator Training; Community Trials to Reduce High-Risk Drinking; Advanced Coalition Building; Nurturing Father's Program Facilitator Training; and Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14.

Find out more about the conference and individual workshops online. The full conference brochure is available and online. You can also register online if you are paying by credit card or using a Purchase Order. Details can be found on the Web at: http://wch.uhs.wisc.edu/04-News/04-StateConf.html, and you can check online any time for updates! Contact Sarah Apple at 800-248-9244 with any questions.
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**RESEARCH UPDATES**

Predicting heavy drug use by adults
The Office of National Drug Control Policy has announced the availability of "Predicting Heavy Drug Use: Results of a Longitudinal Study, Youth Characteristics Describing and Predicting Heavy Drug Use by Adults." The report draws on data from the Department of Labor's National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to describe the movement of adolescents and young adults between marijuana and cocaine use, and identify early predictors of heavy cocaine use. The report (NCJ 208382) is available online at www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/predict_drug_use . A limited number of printed copies are also available from the Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse (JJC) at http://puborder.ncjrs.org/ or 800-851-3420.
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Substance Use During Pregnancy
About four percent of pregnant women ages 15 to 44 are current users of illicit drugs, and younger women are more likely to use drugs than older expectant moms, according to a report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Still, past-month drug use among pregnant women was less than half that of non-pregnant women in the same age group, according to data from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health for 2002 and 2003. The "Substance Use During Pregnancy: 2002 and 2003 Update" also indicates four percent of pregnant women reported binge drinking (consuming five or more drinks at a sitting), and 18 percent smoked cigarettes. Nearly 10 percent of pregnant women said they had consumed alcohol during the past month. Further, pregnant women ages 15 to 25 were more than twice as likely to have smoked cigarettes during the past month ( 27.6 percent) than pregnant women ages 26 to 44 (10.8 percent). Alcohol and other drug use rates were lower for recent mothers than for women who were not recent mothers.
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Mail and web survey estimates of illicit drug use not significantly different
Prevalence estimates of illicit drug use do not differ significantly between mail and web surveys, according to a study of undergraduate students attending a large Midwestern public university in the spring of 2001. A random sample of 7,000 students were randomly assigned to self-administer either a web- or mail-based substance use survey. Both undergraduate men and women reported similar rates of past year substance use, regardless of survey mode. Furthermore, the web-based survey had a higher response rate (63%) than the mail-based survey (40%). The author of the research suggests web surveys have a great deal of promise for conducting large-scale studies. See www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/cesarfax.asp. [McCabe, S.E. (2004) Comparison of web and mail surveys in collecting illicit drug use data: a randomized experiment. Journal of Drug Education , 34(1): 61-72.]
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**RESOURCES/MATERIALS**

Constitutional Rights Foundation newsletter
The Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) is a non-profit, non-partisan, community-based organization dedicated to educating America's young people about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society. Under the guidance of a Board of Directors chosen from the worlds of law, business, government, education, the media, and the community, CRF develops, produces, and distributes programs and materials to teachers, students, and public-minded citizens all across the nation. CRF's online newsletter, "Service-Learning NETWORK," provides educators, students, school administrators, and policymakers with resources that link classroom work with community needs. The spring 2005 issue explores coalition building as a means to more effective civic engagement. It also offers a rationale for civic education, features findings and recommendations from civic-education studies, describes useful service-learning publications, and features a list of service-learning conferences and resources. Go to
http://crf-usa.org/network/network11_1/net11_1_home.html to read the online publication.
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Solutions to Community Alcohol Problems
An action guide from the Marin Institute, and co-sponsored by Join Together and the Youth Leadership Institute, offers a practical menu of concrete steps communities can take to reduce alcohol problems. Solutions to Community Alcohol Problems: A Roadmap for Environmental Prevention aims to make environmental prevention easy to understand and apply. The 22-page booklet and pullout "roadmap" is designed to help elected officials, foundation leaders, public health practitioners, and local advocates support communities in putting environmental prevention strategies into action. Each recommended strategy is well supported by scientific evidence, but the guide is meant for anyone who wants to promote local change. Real world success stories illustrate strategies such as limiting alcohol advertising and sales at community events, or holding adults accountable for providing alcohol to underage youth. The guide focuses on four key areas of influence: community norms, access and availability, media messages, and policy and enforcement. To order copies of the publication, visit www.marininstitute.org/roadmap.
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Community Briefings: A Prevention Tool for Communities
The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign partnered with Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) to develop a new resource for prevention organizations, Strategizer 49: Community Briefings: A Prevention Tool for Communities. This is the latest in CADCA's series of technical assistance manuals for community coalitions. Strategizer 49 is a step-by-step guide that includes: setting objectives and determining format; forming partnerships and planning committees; identifying, vetting, and preparing panelists; securing an appropriate venue for the event; promoting the event with media and other target audiences; identifying local statistics and building supporting materials for outreach; ordering existing Media Campaign and other educational materials to distribute on-site; and using the event as a springboard for other community anti-drug activities. The guide also provides information about three CADCA coalitions that successfully used a community briefing to help shift the cultural norm in their community. Strategizer 49 is available through CADCA at cadca.org , the Media Campaign at www.mediacampaign.org , or the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at www.health.org . We also hope to have this publication available through the Wisconsin Clearinghouse's Prevention Resource Center soon. Please feel free to call and ask for Item #PC020 and we will send copies as soon as they are available to us.
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SmartChart
Spitfire Strategies' SmartChart , a tool to help nonprofits plan a complete communications strategy, is now available free online. The Interactive SmartChart offers the same services as the printed version, with many added features, including: a series of prompts to help plan a communications strategy; success benchmarks; an evaluation tool; and the ability to save, print, and revise at any time. Worksheets and additional planning tips are also provided. The service is free to all nonprofit organizations. To get started, register at SmartChart.org.
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Parents: Help Your Teens Party Right at Graduation
A new fact sheet developed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) helps parents prepare for their teen's graduation by providing important facts about alcohol use, and advice on how to talk to their kids about the dangers of drinking. The fact sheet is a useful resource for coalitions interested in educating parents about the dangers of underage drinking around graduation. "Parents: Help Your Teens Party Right at Graduation," part of the NIAAA's seasonal outreach series, explains how alcohol impacts a teenager's still-developing brain. The publication also explains what happens when young people drink excessively, including tips on what to look for if a parent suspects that their teen has alcohol poisoning. Click here to download NIAAA's free publication or visit www.niaaa.nih.gov.
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The ABCs of BAC
Most impaired drivers will not look or feel drunk before they get behind the wheel, and even small amounts of alcohol can impair a person's ability to drive. These and other facts are explained in a new publication developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which features a Q&A of the most commonly asked questions about drinking and its effect on driving. The ABCs of BAC can be a useful resource for coalitions educating young people about the dangers of drinking. It provides a practical explanation of how blood alcohol concentration levels (BAC) affect the ability to drive, stressing the impact that even small amounts of alcohol can have on key driving functions such as coordination, visual functions, and multitasking abilities. Click here to view The ABCs of BAC.
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The Power of Prevention
When the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy was formed in 1996, the organization set an ambitious goal for the nation: reduce the teen pregnancy rate by one-third. It now appears as though the nation will achieve this goal. Recently the National Campaign announced a new goal for the nation: reduce the teen pregnancy rate by an additional one-third between 2005-2015. "The Power of Prevention," a new monograph from the National Campaign, describes the nation's progress on teen pregnancy and the challenges that remain, and offers ten ideas on how to continue to drive rates down. Click here for more information.
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**HEADS UP!**

World Health Organization alcohol use study
Citing growing problems like binge drinking and increased consumption in developing countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a worldwide study on alcohol use. "Alcohol is now a global problem," said Catherine Le Gales-Camus, WHO's assistant director-general for noncommunicable diseases and mental health. "Member states are more and more concerned by the use of alcohol among the younger part of the population. New patterns of consumption, binge drinking, are major issues." Governments, health experts, and the alcohol industry will be consulted before experts establish the parameters of the study. The last major WHO study of alcohol was done more than 20 years ago, although the organization has undertaken similar studies on tobacco and obesity in recent years. WHO research presented during the recent World Health Assembly said that drinking causes at least 1.8 million deaths annually, 4 percent of all deaths worldwide. "Public-health problems associated with alcohol consumption have reached alarming proportions and alcohol has become one of the most important risks to health globally," the report said.
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100 Best Communities for Young People
America's Promise has announced the launch of a national campaign to identify the "100 Best Communities for Young People." The initiative will bring together the resources of the private and public sectors to identify communities that deliver healthy, safe, and caring environments that effectively educate young people and help them become productive citizens. Communities will apply for the award using an application based upon research conducted by the National Academies of Science, Search Institute, Academy for Educational Development, and Child Trends. The entries will be evaluated this summer by a renowned group of the nation's top education, civic, business, and nonprofit leaders based on criteria related to America's Promise's five essential promises to young people: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education, and opportunities to help others. By applying for the "100 Best Communities for Young People" your community will gain national and local media attention for your efforts; help its outstanding programs get the attention they deserve for their long-term success; help communities share creative, successful ideas with each other; and encourage every community in America to be a great place to grow up. Any community is eligible to apply. Applications will be accepted through Friday, July 29. Learn more about the national search and apply for the award at www.americaspromise.org/. A Support Team is also available at 800-365-0153 to help communities with the application.
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**FUNDING ALERTS**

American Legion Child Welfare Foundation
All 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply for the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation, Inc.'s annual grant program. The foundation has a broad-based initiative focusing on contributing to the "physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual welfare of children," either through the creation of new programs or the strengthening of existing ones, so that knowledge and services can be better accessed by the community at large. Programs should affect more than one state. Grant awards range from $1,500 to $70,000 over a one-year period. Requests for applications must be received by July 1, or the application will be held until the next funding year. Te deadline for receipt of applications is July 15. For more information, visit the American Legion Child Welfare Foundation online.
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think MTV Venture Grants
Music Television (MTV) and the Youth Venture organization have teamed up to offer "think MTV" Venture Grants to support young people trying to make a difference in their community. Each week up to $1,000 in grants will be given to a group of youth with a compelling and sustainable community-service project in the area of education, discrimination, global issues, sexual health, or the environment. The grant is expected to further these projects and enable groups to establish leading organizations, clubs, or businesses to address a need in their community. Groups of two or more individuals over 13 years of age are eligible to apply. In addition to the $1,000 grant, recipients will gain access to resources and tools from Youth Venture, as well as educational and networking opportunities. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through December 31, 2005. Visit the program website for more information.
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**TRAININGS/WORKSHOPS/CONFERENCES**

Underage Drinking Audio Conferences
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has announced three upcoming audio conferences concerning matters related to underage drinking. On June 23, 2005, "Campaign Matters: Using Media To Maximize Success" will discuss initiating and strengthening media campaigns to prevent underage drinking. On July 21, 2005, "The Value of Youth Involvement: Successful Strategies and Approaches" will feature effective strategies led by youth to combat underage drinking. And on August 9, 2005, "Leveraging Underage Drinking Resources" will expand participants' knowledge of available resources and how to leverage them. Access further information and register online at www.udetc.org/currentaudioconferences.asp.
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Assets Education Search Institute trainings
Each year, Search Institute offers training events to inspire community change and bring the Developmental Assets to your school, community, or organization. The 2005 training events at Search Institute in Minneapolis, Minnesota include Training of Trainers: Building Developmental Assets in School Communities, in which teachers, school administrators, and staff will learn to effectively deliver the popular training Building Developmental Assets in School Communities in this two-day workshop (July 28-29, 2005). Training of Trainers: Essentials of Asset Building, in which anyone can learn to effectively deliver two core Search Institute trainings, Everyone's an Asset Builder and Sharing the Asset Message, and be able to introduce the assets and effectively encourage audiences from all sectors to become asset builders (July 25-26, 2005). Link-and-Learn is valuable if you have previously attended a Search Institute Training of Trainers event. Enhance your training skills, keep current with the latest research and information, re-energize, and more ( July 22, 2005). For more information and to register for any of these Assets Education events at Search Institute, go to www.search-institute.org/training/aes.html.
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Communities Respond to Youth Gangs in America videoconference
On August 11, 2005, at 1:30 pm ET, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention will air the 90-minute satellite videoconference "Communities Respond to Youth Gangs in America." The videoconference, which may be viewed online, will feature community programs and strategies that effectively address the youth gang problem, including strategies to leverage existing resources, provide examples of partnerships across disciplines, highlight innovative strategies, and share information on faith-based responses. To access further information and register online, visit www.trc.eku.edu/jj . Questions may be addressed to Jenny McWilliams at ekujjtap@aol.com or 859-622-6671.
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This update has been brought to you by the Wisconsin Clearinghouse for Prevention Resources.

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