evaluation and methodology needed for grant

Running head: DEVELOPING AN IDEA

Grant Proposal

Sheri Evans

EDST 697

Instructor David Roof

October 2, 2019

PROPOSAL IDEA

I would like to facilitate an 8 hour Prime for Life Substance Abuse Education program to all freshman attending Central High School in Muncie, Indiana. Prime for Life is an Evidence-based program developed by the Prevention Research Institute. It is the substance abuse program delivered at Community Corrections currently. When I present it to my current audience it is reactive to decisions that have brought them into contact with the criminal justice system. However, this program has substantive information to be an outstanding resource for prevention. I know organizations such as the Delaware County Prevention Council, do a lot of tremendous work to bring awareness and support to the teens in Delaware County. This program adds the ability for students to learn about biological factors that might put them at increased risk as well as information to understanding guidelines for low-risk drinking. The program shows students how biology and their choices work together to determine if they develop alcoholism or addiction. It also explains many of the possible outcomes from high-risk alcohol or drug use. The program is non-judgmental and would give students the opportunity to evaluate their own choices as well as understand the difference between high and low-risk.

A funding source I have in mind is the Delaware County Prevention Council who every year grants monies for prevention and treatment throughout the county. I would ask my Executive Director to donate part of my daily work time as well as the other certified teacher, to allow for the facilitation. The only expense would be the $12 fee for each workbook, which is required by every participant.

NEEDS STATEMENT

Every day I routinely see people who have damaged their lives and relationships because of substance use/abuse, including cigarettes. Many of these people began to use substances as a teen and some of them before adolescence. In general, as a society we are given a lot of information about the dangers of drugs from an early age. Even with that knowledge, many kids still experiment and use. The earlier teens experiment with alcohol and drugs the more likely they are to develop dependence, (Spear, 2002, Robins & Przybeck, 1985). I believe part of the problem is that all of the information given to kids are about why substance use is dangerous and harmful, but rarely do we discuss how these problems actually develop. We live in a “just say no society” that fails to accept the reality that most adolescence will say “yes” at some point, even if only one time. The same approach has been used to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies. These methods have been proven ineffective. Rather than telling our children to remain abstinent and crossing our fingers, I believe we should explain to them why we have these concerns.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2019), 30% of high school students report alcohol use in the last 30 days. Additionally, 36% reported they had used marijuana, 6% had used an inhalant, 5% reported use of cocaine, and 4% reported illegal use of pain killers, (Office of Adolescent Health, 2019). Most substance use emerges during teen years, yet many schools do not have prevention programs in place, (Center for Health Policy Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 2017). Research shows that evidence-based prevention programs are the most effective across all substances, Center for Health Policy Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 2017). DARE (Drug Awareness and Resistance Education) is a widely accepted prevention program that is taught throughout most US schools, yet programs were found highly ineffective to prevent or reduce cigarette, alcohol or marijuana use among teens, (Clayton et al, 1991). Prime for Life is an Evidence Based program that has been successful. A study on an early prevention program using PRI curriculum found the amount of youth abstaining from substances significantly increased after the program, (Cummings and Linfield, 2002). Those who chose to abstain went up 21% for beer, 8.2% for wine, 20.7% for liquor, and 17.0% for marijuana, (Cummings and Linfield, 2002). Another study complete on a PRI program in Alaska found that (Kallina, 2002):

At the end of the program (post-test): 52% of drinking youth intended to never or rarely make high-risk choices in the future;

48% intended not to use drugs in the future;

46% intended to decrease their drug use in the future.

At the three-month follow-up: 65% reported making no high-risk drinking choices since completing PFL;

43% reported no drug use since completing PFL; 41% intended to decrease their drug use since completing PFL.

As a society we often discuss the general problems associated with drug use or the specific issues concerning individual drugs. All of this information is valid and extremely important, but the most important piece of information I can share with the youth in our community is that all of this is preventable. More importantly, prevention protocol is easy to understand. We can offer them the tools to weigh the costs and benefits of their choices and help guide them to make lower-risk choices to protect the things they value most in their lives. If this information is offered to youth earlier in their teens, then they will have the opportunity to make well educated decisions during some of the most imperative times of their lives.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of this project is to provide support to Muncie Central High school and the 389 freshman enrolled there, (Muncie Community Schools, n.d.). This will be achieved through evidence-based programming proven to prevent problems with alcohol and drug use as well as promote intervention and treatment strategies for students regarding alcohol and drug use. This will be accomplished through the use of a non-judgmental and motivational curriculum designed to change drinking and drug use behaviors by changing beliefs, attitudes, risk perceptions, motivations and knowledge – to reduce their risk of alcohol and drug related problems.

· Objective 1: Reduce high-risk beliefs and perceptions about drinking and drug use and develop accurate perceptions and beliefs of personal risk for developing problems with alcohol or drugs.

Teens begin experimenting with drugs for many reasons. Some due so out of curiosity, some because of peer pressure, and some because of emotional or mental problems, (Prevention Research Institute, 2015). As a society we are often more concerned with why this happens than with prevention efforts. It can be different for each adolescent and once they start to use it can become very dangerous. The reasons why teens drink alcohol or use drugs is nowhere near as important as how much and how often they choose to use, (PRI, 2015). High-risk alcohol and drug use can lead to impairment and health problems, including death and addiction (PRI, 2015). Prime for Life challenges common beliefs that prevent adolescents from taking drinking and drug using choices seriously.

At the end of the program, participants will demonstrate more accurate beliefs about the risks associated with alcohol and drug use.

Drinking causes poor decisions which can lead to risky behaviors like drinking and driving, sexual activity and violence, (NIH, 2017). According to the National Institute of Health (2017), the Center for Disease Control reports that 4,358 people under the age of 21 die each year from alcohol-related car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning, and other injuries such as falls, burns, and drownings. Additionally, they report more than 190,000 people under the age of 21 visited an emergency room for alcohol-related injuries in 2008 alone. Teens who engage in high-risk alcohol and drug use are more likely to have problems with executive functions, impaired memory, relationships, emotional well-being, and physical problems, (PRI, 2015). These health and impairment problems result in a 30-year shorter life-span on average, (PRI, 2015). Health problems associated with alcohol and drug use include cirrhosis, high-blood pressure, cancers, heart disease, stroke, addiction, and death, (PRI 2015). Impairment problems include fights, falls, arrests, problems walking and talking, overdose, unprotected sex, and death, (PRI 2015). If teens understand these risks associated with high-risk alcohol and drug use they are able to develop more accurate perceptions about their own risk and potential problems.

At the end of the program participants will be able to identify their personal level of biological risk, as well as understand choices that will reduce their risk of developing health and impairment problems with alcohol or drugs. This will be measured by a pre and posttest questionnaire.

· Objective 2: Increase motivation to change high-risk behaviors.

Thirty days following the program participants will have fewer occasions of drinking or using drugs and/or reduced the amount used.

The program has been proven to reduce beliefs that increase motivation to use by adolescents, (Daugherty and O’Bryan, 1988). This will be measured by a pre-test questionnaire, a post-test questionnaire, and a follow-up questionnaire given 30 days after the conclusion of the program.

· Objective 3: Facilitate the program to the Central High School freshman class each coming year.

To continue to educate high school students it is important to regularly administer the curriculum to new students. After success of the initial program efforts can be put into place to fund the programming in other ways. This many include fund-raising and/or financial support from the school corporation.

Methodology

Prime for Life is an evidence-based program proven to reduce risky behaviors, (Beadnell et al., 2016). The program provides and established curriculum and syllabus that will be presented to the 389 freshmen high school students enrolled at Muncie Central, (Muncie Community Schools n.d.).

Objective 1: Reduce high-risk beliefs and perceptions about drinking and drug use of participants and develop accurate perceptions and beliefs of personal risk for developing problems with alcohol or drugs.

There continues to be a significant level of alcohol, marijuana, opioid, prescription drug/OTC abuse by youth in our county. This curriculum discusses outcomes of substance use that may trick teens into thinking that “everyone is doing it” and that high tolerance is a “good thing”. This includes a deep understanding of impairment and the problems associated with it. It discusses social- dependence and how it tricks individuals into believing high-risk alcohol and drug use is normal part of our society. It provides participants statistics and evidence-based research on the effects of alcohol and drugs and then allows them to privately compare that information to their own using history and experiences.

As part of the curriculum participants will develop their own formula to understand how their own biological risk combines with the choices they make to move them closer to or away from problems. They will be able to use the information to gain an understanding not only of the risk they each have, but of the choices that will reduce their risk. They will learn the basic low-risk guidelines which are stated as 0 – 1 – 2 – 3. This stands for zero use of drugs and at times for alcohol. No more than 1 standard drink per hour, 2 standard drinks per day, or 3 standard drinks on any 1 day. PRI guidelines do suggest times when alcohol should also be 0 and this includes underage use. The reality is that abstinence isn’t an enforceable approach to prevention so low-risk guidelines can be valuable and imperative.

They will learn about and discuss psychological and social influences that increase the likelihood that they will make high-risk choices. They will also learn ways to challenge those influences and resist social pressures.

This will be done through directed facilitation that includes small group discussions, big group discussions, workbook pages, and group activities. The curriculum has a mandatory slide show which includes informative videos, summaries of research, visual examples and videos of people giving testimony on their own experiences.

Objective 2: Increase motivation to change high-risk behaviors.

It is important to support school-level educations programs which provide proven prevention, evidence-based programming. The Prime for Life program uses motivational interviewing skills to work with participants to recognize their own risk and motivate them to use their own skills to reduce that risk. It is non-judgmental and uses reflective listening to encourage intrinsic motivation. It also offers advice on how to find support, should the participant want it.

Objective 3: Facilitate the program to the Central High School freshman class each coming year.

I want to continue to encourage and support the school systems to administer Prime for Life and the student alcohol and drug use survey each year. I would like to incorporate this as a mandatory course for all freshman during their first month of school. This would allow each new class to benefit from the information early in their high school experience when prevention is important. It would also present the opportunity to dedicate funds from fundraising or as part of school funding.

Program Structure

Project Role	Person	Qualifications
Program Director	Sheri Evans	MA Educational Psychology MA Adult and Community Education 14 years experience at Community Corrections
Principle Facilitator	Sheri Evans	Certified Prime for Life Instructor for 6 years Director of Educational Programs at DCCC
Assistant Facilitator	Joe Williams	Certified Prime for Life Instructor for a year

Timeline

Activity

Person(s) Responsible

Month

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Contact MCHS to schedule then attend meeting

Sheri Evans Joe Williams

X

Finalize Pre and Post surveys with MCHS

Sheri Evans

X

X

Get enrollment numbers from MCHS and order books

Sheri Evans

X

Prepare parent packets and consent forms

Sheri Evans Joe Williams

X

X

Give parent packets to MCHS to give to students

Sheri Evans

X

Collect parent packs from MCHS and reaffirm numbers

Sheri Evans

X

Deliver Prime for Life program And collect pre/post tests, evaluations, and pre surveys

Sheri Evans Joe Williams

X

Collect data from tests, evaluations, and pre-program survey

Sheri Evans And Joe Williams

X

Administer post-survey to students

Joe Williams

X

Collect all data and prepare report

Sheri Evans

X

X

Submit quarterly report to grantor

Sheri Evans

X

X

X

X

Evaluation

Measuring the success of Prime for Life Education on Muncie Central Freshman

Design

Built into the program is a pre-test given to each participant before the course begins and a post-test given at the conclusion. These tests measure knowledge of the program concepts before and after to see if learning occurred. For this particular program there will be the addition of a self-report questionnaire that will be given prior to any instruction and then again at the completion of the program. This questionnaire will evaluate the attitudes and beliefs that participants have regarding alcohol and drug choices and consequences. At the conclusion of the program each participant will be given an evaluation that will be completed anonymously, in which they rate the facilitator, the content, and the book.

Questions

The following self-report report survey will be administered before the program and again 30 days following the program.

	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
Drinking alcohol can cause health problems in teens
Teen are more likely to get hurt when drinking alcohol
It is possible for a teen to become addicted to alcohol
Teens can be harmed by the use of prescription drugs that are not prescribed to them
Teens can become addicted to drugs
Teens are more likely to be hurt when under the influence of drugs
Marijuana use can effect school performance
Marijuana can be addictive
Driving abilities can be impaired by marijuana use

Number of times used alcohol in the past 30 days	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
None
1-5
6-10
11-20
20

Marijuana use in the past 30 days	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
None
1-5 days
6-10 days
11-20
20 or more

Number of times used a prescription medication not prescribed to you in last 30 days	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
None
1-5
6-10
11-20
20 or more

Number of times used other illegal drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine	Strongly agree	Agree	Neutral	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
None
1-5
6-10
11-20
20

Performance Indicators

To ensure that the project is on schedule and is meeting the objectives, the principle facilitator will make monthly reports on progress and observations. This data will be collected and sent to the grantor each quarter throughout the grant period. It will include an explanation of activities completed during the grant period as well as the positive outcomes and successes that helped the program achieve the objectives. It will discuss any barriers or problems encountered during the period which may have hindered progress to reach the objectives as well as a plan to overcome those barriers.

Works Cited

Beadnell, B., Stafford, P. A., Crisafulli, M. A., Casey, E. A., & Rosengren, D. B. (2016). Methods for Quantifying the Clinical Significance of Change During Intervention Program Participation. Evaluation & the Health Professions, 39(4), 435–459. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278715622663

Center for Health Policy Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. (2017). Substance Abuse Trends in Indiana: A 10-Year Perspective. Indianapolis: Balio, C. & Greene, M.

Clayton, R. R., Cattarello, A. M., & Johnstone, B. M. (1996). The effectiveness of drug abuse resistance education (project DARE): 5-year follow-up results. Preventive Medicine, 25(3), 307-318. doi:10.1006/pmed.1996.0061

Cummings, P., Johnson, J. and Linfield, K. (2002). Kentucky Division of Substance Abuse Evaluation of the Early Intervention Program: Final Report.

Daugherty, R. and O’Bryan, T. (1988). Second Report: Talking With Your Students About Alcohol. Submitted to the Kentucky Cabinet for Human Resources. Prevention Research Institute. Inc.

Kallina, W. (2002) PRIME For Life Alaska. Prevention Research Institute, Inc.

National Institute of Health. (2017). Underage Drinking. Retrieved from: http://niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/underage-drinking

Office of Adolescent Health. (2019, May 1). Indiana Adolescent Substance Abuse Facts. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/facts-and-stats/national-and-state-data-sheets/adolescents-and-substance-abuse/indiana/index.html

Prevention Research Institute. (2015).

Robins, L.N., & Przybeck, T.R. (1985). Age of onset of drug use as a factor in drug and other disorders. NIDA Research Monograph, 56, 178-192.

School Detail for Muncie Central High School. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&DistrictID=1807320&ID=180732001242

Spear, L. (2002b). Alcohol’s effects on adolescents. Alcohol Research and Health, 26, 287-289.