Program Goals:
1) Educate students about alcohol, tobacco, substance
abuse, underage drinking, and build decision making, resiliency,
refusal and problem solving skills.
2) Identify at-risk and high-risk students and facilitate the opportunity
to develop personal developmental assets and reduce risk factors or increase
protective factors in their individual, peer or family domain through individual
and support group sessions.
This project will incorporate educational presentations to students
about alcohol, tobacco, substance abuse, underage drinking, build
decision making, resiliency, refusal, and problem solving skills.
This project will also identify at-risk and high-risk students and facilitate
the opportunity to develop personal internal & external assets and reduce
risk factors or increase protective factors in their individual, peer or
family domain through individual and support group sessions.
Working with Midland Independent School District, the Project Coordinator
will make school contacts at each campus, informing school counselors about
this project.
Upon coordination with the school counselor, provisions will be made for
collaborative team of 1-4 staff members to provide substance abuse education
to the general student body.
This education may include the effects of alcohol
on a developing adolescent brain, the effects of marijuana, cocaine,
tobacco & inhalants, alternatives to substance abuse, problem
identification and community referral sources, decision making,
resiliency, refusal, and problem solving skills.
Upon continuing coordination with the school counselor, these same types
of educational presentations will be offered in each alternative setting
weekly.
Identified At-Risk and High-Risk students will have the opportunity for weekly
individual support and peer group sessions which will create the opportunity
for the individual to develop personal internal & external assets and
reduce risk factors or increase protective factors in their individual, peer
or family domain.
The present situation continually plagues us. Substance
abuse and underage drinking is common for adolescents in Midland
County.
According to the Texas School Survey issued during
spring of 2002 for Midland 6th- 12th grade students, it is clear
that there is not only an alcohol problem but an illicit drug
problem in Midland County as well.
The Midland Police Department also reported 502 Juvenile
Arrests, 193 underage drinking party interventions, 322 minors
arrested for possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages, & 37
alcohol related accidents involving drivers under 21 years of
age.
These problems contribute substantially to juvenile
delinquency, violence, school drop out rates, criminal activity
and an increase in economic expenditures.
There is an increasing need to provide current, research-based,
proven effective education, prevention and intervention services
to high-risk and at-risk students on school campuses and a lack
of program providers to do so.
Often school campus counselors are engaged in scheduling,
testing and a plethora of problems from the hundreds of students
they serve.
Due to their enormous existing workload it is difficult
for school counselors to personally provide substance abuse education,
prevention and intervention services at a level which satisfies
these high demands.
Research has shown that social and personal skills
building can enhance individual capacities, influence attitudes,
and promote behavior inconsistent with use.
These interventions usually include information about
the negative effects of substance use (Bell, Ellickson, & Harrison,
1993; Botvin, Baker, Dusenbury, Botvin, & Diaz, 1995; Ellickson,
Bell, & McGuigan, 1993; Hansen, 1996; Pentz et al., 1990;
Schinke & Cole, 1995; Tobler, 1986, 1992).
Most interventions aimed at the individual are designed
to change knowledge about and attitudes toward substance abuse
with the ultimate goal of influencing behavior.
Working with Midland Independent School District,
the Project Coordinator will make school contacts at each campus,
informing school counselors about the two project goals.
Through the collaborative efforts of the Juvenile
Justice Committee and the Midland Coalition, this project will
continue to evaluate methods to reduce substance abuse, underage
drinking and promote drug free lifestyles in Midland County through
coordinated education, prevention, intervention and peer oriented
programs.
As the demand for services to high-risk and at-risk
students grow the provision for current, research-based, proven
effective education, prevention and intervention services should
also increase.
