POLICY AND PRACTICE Communities That Care


programmes. Chosen programmes refl ect the coalition’s strategic assessment of what can make the biggest difference. School-based programmes have the advantage of reaching many pupils simultaneously, but, in some communities, new parenting or mentoring programmes are needed. Coalitions generally implement two or three


programmes per year. They understand that programmes should be faithfully replicated in order to achieve successful outcomes, and they monitor implementation practices to ensure high quality.


One community’s experience A rapidly growing town in the western United States implemented CTC as part of a research study. A coalition was formed, whose actions were guided by the belief that theirs was a “diverse community unifi ed in fostering respectful and responsible citizens”. The coalition had support from the state offi ces of education and drug abuse prevention. Its local members included both “movers and shakers” and “good people who are strongly invested in the community and want to make a difference”, as well as a full-time co-ordinator. The Communities That Care Youth Survey


results for this community led the coalition to focus on three risk factors: family confl ict, low commitment to school, and friends who engage in anti-social behaviour. They set specifi c targets for improvement, for example, reducing the percentage of pupils who experienced low commitment to school from 59% to 41% over four years. They also wanted to reduce alcohol and marijuana use, school suspensions, and violence. The coalition selected three programmes to achieve these goals. Guiding Good Choices was aimed at strengthening families and reducing confl ict. Two school-based programmes, LifeSkills Training and Lion’s Quest Skills for Adolescence, addressed the other risk factors and problem behaviours of concern. Programmes were implemented with high fi delity over the course of four years. Over time, improvements were seen in risk, protection, and problem behaviour. For example, commitment to school improved by 15 percentage points after three years of intervention. Now in its 7th year, CTC is integral to this community’s prevention work. “We’re in total support of this in our community and don’t want to see it leave.”


A track record of sustained improvements CTC was tested in the Community Youth Development Study, a randomised, experimental trial conducted in 24 communities across the US. The study showed that CTC was effective in preventing alcohol


What we know


● Problem behaviours, like substance abuse and anti-social behaviour, are barriers to learning.


● They increase risk for school disengagement and failure.


● Communities That Care (CTC) provides educators and other stakeholders with tools and with skills for reducing barriers to learning.


● Communities using CTC select evidence- based school and community prevention programmes to reduce community- specifi c risks and problem behaviours.


● CTC effectively prevents alcohol and tobacco use and anti-social behaviour in young people.


and tobacco use and anti-social behaviour after three years of focused, evidence-based prevention activities: ● Communities achieved high-fi delity implementation of the CTC system and prevention programmes.


● Risk factors, including low commitment to school, increased less rapidly from age 10 to age 14 in CTC communities, compared to communities not using CTC.


● Grade 8 (age 13/14) pupils in CTC communities were 33% less likely to start smoking, 32% less likely to start drinking, and 25% less likely to start engaging in anti-social behaviour than pupils in “control” communities.


● Improvements were sustained until age 16, one year after study support ended.


● Effects on the prevalence of substance abuse and anti-social behaviour were found for both boys and girls, and for youth, who differed in risk at the study’s start.


● CTC was cost benefi cial, estimated to return $5.30 in benefi ts to participants and the community for every dollar invested.


Summary


Educators often wonder how to reduce barriers to school achievement. CTC is an effective way to prevent common problems for young people – like substance abuse and anti-social behaviour – that interfere with school success and positive development. Interested communities can access a complete set of CTC materials at www.communitiesthatcare.net.


Author note This article is based on research supported by a grant from the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA015183-08), with co- funding from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute


of Mental Health, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors, and does not necessarily represent the offi cial views of the funding agencies.


About the authors J David Hawkins is the founding director of the Social Development Research Group and Endowed Professor of Prevention in the School of Social Work at the University of Washington. He is one of the developers of Communities That Care. Dr Hawkins works with communities and governmental organisations, nationally and abroad, to promote positive youth development through the use of evidence-based programmes, policies, and practices. Margaret Kuklinski is a research scientist at the Social Development Research Group in the School of Social Work at the University of Washington. Her research centres on the evaluation of interventions that promote positive development in youth. Abigail Fagan is associate professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. Her research includes the sustainability and dissemination of effective prevention strategies.


Further reading


Hawkins JD, Catalano RF, and Kuklinski MR (2011), Mobilizing Communities to Implement Tested and Effective Programs to Help Youth Avoid Risky Behaviors: The Communities That Care Approach. Washington, DC: ChildTrends.


Hawkins JD et al (2011), Sustained Decreases in Risk Exposure and Youth Problem Behaviors After Installation of the Communities That Care Prevention System in a Randomized Trial. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.


Kuklinski et al (2011), Cost-Benefi t Analysis of Communities That Care Outcomes at Eighth Grade. Prevention Science.


Social Development Research Group (2009), Can Communities Implement Prevention Programs With Fidelity to Program Design? (Research Brief No.1). Seattle, WA: Social Development Research Group.


Social Development Research Group (2009), A Test of Communities That Care: Community Coalitions Can Prevent Youth Substance Use and Delinquency (Research Brief No. 3). Seattle, WA: Social Development Research Group.


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