Do healthy kids really learn better?

Washington State Department of Health Adolescent Health Conference Call
June 18, 2009
10:00 - 11:30 a.m.

A review of health and academic achievement among youth and interventions to improve them.

Guest speaker: Julia Dilley, Senior Research/Epidemiologist, Multnomah County Health Dept. and Oregon Dept. of Human Services

To register, contact Jennifer Hansen at 360-586-7868 or jennifer.hansen@doh.wa.gov. The conference call number and meeting code will be given to those who register. Jennifer will need the following information from registrants: name; organization; email; phone; and fax number.

Underage drinking during prom & graduation

A May 25 National Public Radio segment addressed underage drinking during prom and graduation. The segment includes tips from adults and teens on ways to talk to teens about alcohol use. NPR's description of the segment:

Kids look forward to the prom — but some parents dread it. The temptation to hit the booze at the after-parties may be strong for teens, but some studies say that science may be the way to convince them to say "no." When it comes to teen drinking, a new set of talking points can help parents.

May newsletter

The coalition's May 2009 newsletter came out today. It includes articles about the police response to large underage drinking parties in parks and about the prevention group at Nathan Hale High School (RADD).

Impact of substance abuse on state budget

A new report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University shows that state governments spend, on average, 15 percent of their entire budgets on substance abuse and addiction and its consequences. The report indicates that for every dollar spent on the problem, 94 cents goes to deal with the consequences in public programs such as health care, criminal justice, education, child welfare, and mental health. Only about 2 cents go to prevention, treatment and research to reduce the problem, according to the report.

Here is the breakdown CASA did about substance abuse related spending in Washington. To view the full report, click here.

Guiding Good Choices workshops starting up again in the fall

At the University Family YMCA
Five Tuesdays: October 6 - November 3, 2009
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Free dinner & childcare available!

At Seattle Children's Hospital

Five Wednesdays: October 14 - November 11, 2009

6:15 - 8:15 p.m.

Visit the coalition's website for more information.

Safe & Drug Free Schools & Communities Program in jeopardy

In his Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request, President Obama recommends eliminating the State Grants portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) program. The SDFSC program funds a significant portion of Seattle Public Schools' Prevention Intervention Program and many prevention programs around the state.

As part of a toolkit for prevention advocates, the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) developed two fact sheets about SDFSC:

Eliminating the State Grants Portion of the SDFSC Program Is Not a Sound Proposal and

The State Grants Portion of the SDFSC Program Must Be Maintained.

President Obama proposed the elimination of this program because he says it has been deemed ineffective. Pride Surveys has prepared a SDFSC Briefing Paper repudiating his assertion.

Statewide prevention activities highlighted in May edition of FOCUS

Check out the May edition of FOCUS, the Division of Alcohol & Substance Abuse's newsletter. It includes articles about:

2009-11 Budget, Policy, and Organizational Changes;

Youth See Fewer Alcohol Ads During Final Four;

Naches Valley Students Challenge Alcohol Service at Mat Classic;

Reducing Youth Exposure to Alcohol Marketing;

Prevention Posters Appear in Liquor Stores.

UK delegation learns about Washington prevention programs

Earlier this month, a delegation from the UK visited Seattle to learn about implementing tested and effective prevention programs . They spent the week visiting different programs and learning from local experts in the field.

One of the programs they learned about is the Olweus bullying prevention program implemented in Seattle Public Schools. They visited Washington Middle School and interviewed Celia Arriaga, the district's bullying prevention expert.

Members of the Prevention WINS coalition (NE Seattle) and the coordinator of the Quincy Communities That Care coalition provided the delegation with a first-hand look at how coalitions are implementing underage drinking prevention programs.

The delegation blogged about their experiences and for their last two days they blogged about lessons learned about the Communities That Care (CTC) operating system from the Social Development Research Group. CTC is very similar to the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) that coalitions such as Prevention WINS use to guide decisions. Their comments include:

First, it is possible to combine rigorous prevention science with community engagement and a passion for change.

“I’ve seen how science and community engagement can be linked. I didn’t think there was a model for this.”

“CTC makes me reflect on my community development days – building capacity to get communities to engage.”

“I’ve seen passion and rigour and integrity. It has been interesting to see a new take on community development. It’s re-invented what I saw 30 years ago.”

Adolescents suffering from depression more likely to start drinking alcohol

A new report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reveals that 8.2% of children aged 12 to 17 experienced at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. Only 39% of these adolescents received treatment during this period.

An MDE is defined as a period of 2 weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure and at least 4 other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, including problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image.

Among treated adolescents:
-- 58.8% saw or spoke to with a counselor;
-- 36.8% saw or spoke with a psychologist;
-- 27.3% saw or spoke with a psychiatrist or psychotherapist;
-- 26.6% saw or spoke with a general practitioner or family doctor.

When it comes to underage drinking . . .

Among youth who had previously not used alcohol, 29% of those with a MDE initiated alcohol use compared with 14% who had not experienced a MDE within the past year.

Port Angeles coalition to launch social norms marketing campaign

The SPF-SIG coalition in Port Angeles is launching a social norms marketing campaign. Above is their "warm up message". They are going to use it as a window cling and then in their parent newsletter and in places that 7th/8th grade parents frequent.

The coalition plans to develop and add on messages using their community survey results to guide them. One message will be, " . . . because Port Angeles parents ask their kids where they are and who they are with." These messages will be done mostly through posters.