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Prevention Services at Youth Service Bureau By Janice Connelly, YSB Director of Prevention Services
The Youth Service Bureau partners with schools, church groups and other child-centered organizations to provide prevention services to McHenry County youth. Prevention activities assist youth and families in recognizing their own strengths and developing skills that will build resiliency and promote healthy choices. According to McKee (2006), “It is a well-known and accepted fact that youth must develop a set of skills and acquire certain characteristics if they are to become productive and successful adults in today’s contemporary society. Numerous research findings document that too many youth in this country reach adulthood without the skills, resources or knowledge that they need for what comes next..” If youth do not have the skills they need to be productive members of society and engage in positive activities, they are at risk of negative behaviors such as drug abuse, alcohol abuse, early sexual activity, teen pregnancy and criminal behaviors. Thus, it stands to reason that helping them to identify their own strengths and teaching them the skills they need to be successful will serve as a protective factor against negative youth outcomes. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), has identified that teaching kids positive behaviors the increase communication skills, peer relationships, self control, problem solving, assertiveness skills and effective study habits provide a strong basis for the prevention of a wide range of negative behaviors. Research also indicates that adapting prevention programming to individual community characteristics and population needs increases the positive effect of service participation. (NIDA). According to research, prevention programs should build on protective behaviors while providing information about specific drugs and behaviors present in the community. They are most effective when they employ interactive techniques, such as peer discussion groups and parent role-playing.(NIDA) Research-based prevention programs can be cost-effective. For each dollar invested in prevention, a savings of up to $10 in treatment for alcohol or other substance abuse can be seen (Aos et al. 2001; Hawkins et al. 1999; Pentz 1998; Spoth et al. 2002a). YSB Prevention programming is based on Model Curriculums and practices that have been shown to be effective. All groups and workshops incorporate communication skill-building and information about healthy relationships as well as information about topics of interest to the specific group. Groups are available for youth of all ages and content is tailored to the developmental level of the target audience. Current offerings include: Many of these services are offered as “Primary Prevention” activities. Primary Prevention Activities are presented whole groups, not targeted to specific students. They include classroom and assembly presentations for students as well as workshops for teachers and parents. On-going Groups for optimal skill development, including:
These services typically take the form of small on-going groups of students. Schools and other groups can identify students who demonstrate behaviors or are experiencing environmental factors that put them at risk of negative behaviors or who desire skill development in a specific domain. For maximum effectiveness, we recommend a combination of one-time, primary prevention activities for large groups of students and on-going groups for those kids who will benefit from more intensive intervention. We also strongly encourage schools and organizations who utilize our services to incorporate a parent component. Organizations interested in partnering with YSB in providing prevention groups should contact Janice Connelly, YSB Director of Prevention at 815-338-7360. For more information about YSB visit www.ysb4kids.org. References Aos, S.; Phipps, P.; Barnoski, R.; and Lieb, R. The Comparative Costs and Benefits of Programs to Reduce Crime. Vol. 4 (1-05-1201). Olympia, WA: Washington State Institute for Public Policy, May 2001 Hawkins, J.D.; Catalano, R.F.; Kosterman, R.; Abbott, R.; and Hill, K.G. Preventing adolescent health-risk behaviors by strengthening protection during childhood. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine 153:226–234, 1999. McKee, D. . Gathering under the big tent: a new perspective on positive youth development. Prevention Forum 27: 15-17, 2006. National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIDA InfoFacts: Lessons from Prevention Research. 2004. http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/lessons.html Pentz, M.A.; Costs, benefits, and cost-effectiveness of comprehensive drug abuse prevention. In: Bukoski, W.J.; and Evans, R.I., eds. Cost-Benefit/Cost-Effectiveness Research of Drug Abuse Prevention: Implications for Programming and Policy. NIDA Research Monograph No. 176. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, pp. 111–129, 1998. Spoth, R.; Guyull, M.; and Day, S. Universal family-focused interventions in alcohol-use disorder prevention: Cost effectiveness and cost-benefit analyses of two interventions. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 63:219–228, 2002a. Youth Service Bureau |
