Navigation: Overview, 18 case studies - Summary, 1. Aberdeen School District, 2. City of Othello, 3. Crossroads Treatment Center, 4. ESD 123, 5. Grant County Prevention & Recovery, 6. Lake Washington School District, 7. North Thurston School District, 8. Oak Harbor School District, 9. Olympic ESD 114, 10. Orcas Island School District, 11. Pacific County Health & Human Services and Willapa Children's Service, 12. Seattle Public Schools, 13.Snoqualmie Valley Community Network, 14. Spokane County Community Services, 15. Swinomish Tribe, 16.Together!/ROOF/Rochester, 17. Toppenish Police Department/City of Toppenish, 18. Walla Walla County Dept of Human Services
Executive Summary
Othello collaborates with Adams County and the Othello Boys and Girls Club to manage the SIG project. The Columbia Basin Boys and Girls Club, located in Moses Lake, oversees the Boys and Girls Club. First year SIG funds were used to open the club in Othello.
The Othello School District serves a rural, agricultural community with many migratory and seasonal farm workers, primarily of Hispanic origin. Large potato plants form the border on one edge of town. The biggest employers are Simplot, the Othello School District, a new Wal-Mart, and the local hospital. The 2000 census shows that Adams County grew by 21% in the past decade to a population of 16,428. Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin comprise nearly half (47%) of the population. The median household money income is $32,250, compared to the state median income of $41,715.
Prevention History
Adams County has a very active prevention specialist, funded by the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA), Department of Social and Health Services, and the Office of Community Development, Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. About ten years ago, a few community members formed an organization called People Against Illegal Drugs (P.A.I.D.). This group funds small prevention projects. There is a local DARE program and a Students Against Destructive Decisions group. The county and city decided to apply for SIG funding when the after-school recreation program was ended due to budget cuts.
Progress Toward Community Level Objectives
Objective 1:Establish partnerships...
Prevention partnerships in Othello include the Persons Against Illegal Drugs (PAID), a grant writing group, the Community Public Health and Safety Network, the Adams County Community Mobilization Board, the Boys and Girls Club, and the SIG advisory board. PAID was formed over a decade ago. The notion of using prevention partnerships to coordinate, leverage, and redirect scarce prevention resources is not new in Othello and Adams County.
Objectives 2 and 3: Use a risk and protective factor framework for planning and participate in joint community risk and protective factor and resource assessment.
Adams County was conducting joint risk and protective factor and resource assessments before the state began piloting its collaborative needs assessment process. A Community Mobilization Board formalized the process. Before the CM Board was established, the prevention specialist conducted the assessment by attending meetings of various planning organizations and reporting her findings to DASA and the Community Mobilization Against Substance Abuse project.
Objective 4: Select and implement effective prevention actions...
This objective refers to implementing prevention programs that have been shown to be effective through research. SIG introduced this concept to Othello. The Othello Boys and Girls Club's implemented the national Boys and Girls Club SMART Moves curriculum, shown effective in multiple settings and with various populations. In addition, social activities, recreation, education, arts and crafts, and mentoring programs were implemented.
Objective 5: To use common reporting tools...
Reporting tools are used to measure the effectiveness of prevention programs. At the program level, Othello had available through SIG the Everest program outcome monitoring system. For measurement of community level outcomes, Othello participates in the Washington State Survey of Adolescent Health Behavior. Both Everest and the survey measure risk and protective factors. The survey also measures substance abuse prevalence.
Successes
SIG introduced science-based programs to Othello.
Two major community groups now hold joint meetings to coordinate activities. Parents Against Illegal Drugs (PAID) and the Community Mobilization Advisory Board meet together quarterly.
The Boys and Girls Club became a huge success immediately after opening. Over 400 children became members with about 120 youth attended the club each day. A homework club was established that markedly improved grades of participating students. Children were exposed to the SMART Moves curriculum and attended several community events, such as: the Sand Hill Crane Festival, the community Christmas Program, and the Fiesta Amistad.
The Club is open from 3-7:30 PM. These are the hours in which most vandalism occurs in the community. According to the club director, in 1998 Juvenile vandalism was 13%. Since the Boys and Girls Club opened the rate has dropped to 5%. The Community Network director verified this and stated that she knows of no other program that could have made this change.
Challenges
The city and county administrators recognize the Boys and Girls Club as an asset for providing after school programs for disadvantaged youth. While the club attracts donations from various local businesses and funding agencies, it does not appear to be fully integrated into the community organizations. There seems to be a philosophical distance between the club and some of the mainstream community organizers. Club managers feel they are still considered outsiders, and there appears to be competition for providing services and obtaining funding. This competition and attitude may limit collaboration between the club and the county. The Community Network has been very helpful in raising funds for the club. A representative from the Boys and Girls Club is a member of the Community Network, but not the other service organizations.
The same few individuals comprise most of the civic organizations, as is common in small communities. Some interviewed commended the community support, but also indicated that new ideas are slow to evolve.
Rival Explanations for Changes
The requirements of state and federal prevention funding agencies led to the formation of Othello's prevention partnerships, already in place before SIG funding was received. The effects of their prevention efforts cannot be discerned from SIG's at the community level. At the program level, it is impossible to know how many programs that participants in SIG-funded programs have been exposed to.
| Download Community Report | |
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Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download the brief description to the achievements and challenges experienced in implementing science based prevention in this community: " City of Othello, Adams County Executive Summary of Community-Level Process Evaluation Reports" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-2a (134 KB) |
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Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download a description of the prevention activities and the main community partners: "Community Project Description for Adams County - City of Othello." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-2b (143 KB) |
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Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download the components of the community plan: "Project Action Plan for Adams County - City of Othello." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-2c (300 KB) |
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Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download the report of the first year activities: "City of Othello, Adams County Washington State Incentive Grant 1st year Community - Level Evaluation 1999-2000."Publication Date: 11/2000. Report Number: 4.43-2d (191 KB) |
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Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download the report of the second year activities: "City of Othello, Adams County Washington State Incentive Grant 2nd Year Community - Level Evaluation 2000-2001." Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-2e (252 KB) |
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Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download data on changes in risk and protection factors for prevention program participants: "Program Outcomes" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-2f (100 KB) |
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Click on the PDF symbol to the left to download data on changes in trends of risk and protection for the entire community: "Community Outcomes Report - Adams County -City of Othello" Publication Date: 04/2002. Report Number: 4.43-2g (73 KB). |