TI: Substance abuse

RPAs: Adult monitoring and supervision

Consistent appropriate discipline

System: Hocking County substance abuse priority is to

“ Expand Prevention and Early Intervention ”

Strategy 2: Expand/enhance after-school programming already provided at Volunteers of America.

Evidence:

Attendance at after-school programming means:

• Reduced exposure to friends engaged in problem behavior.
• Reduced exposure to substance use/availability/peer pressure to use.
• Reduced exposure to violence/abuse/norms tolerant of violence.
• Reduced exposure to community norms around substance abuse.

(Should be most effective to reduce exposure to

“negative” influences during the highest risk time of day).

Attendance at after-school programming means:

• Increased exposure to pro-social adults.
• Increased exposure to consistent appropriate discipline.
• Increased exposure to adult monitoring and supervision.
• Increased exposure to “healthy” norms around sobriety and substance abuse.
• Increased exposure to norms around recovery/mental health treatment.
• Increased exposure to norms around responsibility, respect.

After-school programming (as a strategy) is linked to RPAs

and the influence of all these RPAs actually increases the

community’s chances of successfully impacting youth substance abuse.

Expanding opportunities for children to be exposed to appropriate

discipline, adult supervision and “healthy” norms will lead to reduced

substance abuse. Attendance at after-school programming means

increased exposure to protective factors which will lead to reduced substance

abuse and behaviors associated with mental illness.