Issue #1  - Substance Abuse

Needs Assessment Data Suggesting the Need (from ICJIA profile)

· A majority of juvenile arrests made by the Gibson City Department of Law Enforcement were for status offenses, in particular curfew violations, runaways, and underage drinking. 

· The Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (OASA) received data on 81 minors in Ford County who were admitted to OASA funded facilities.  Marijuana and hashish were the drugs that most frequently precipitated the admittance. 

· Only 26% of the respondents reported that it is against their values to drink alcohol or have sex while they are a teenager.

· A majority (69%) of the respondents reported having attended one or more parties in the last year where other minors were drinking.  Over half of the respondents (52%) reported having used alcohol once or more in the last 30 days and 38% reported that they had gotten drunk once or more in the last two weeks (47% males vs. 30% females). 

· Almost a third of respondents (30%) reported that they have driven after drinking or ridden with a drinking driver three or more times in the last 12 months. 

· Approximately a third (34%) of respondents reported having smoked cigarettes once or more in the last month (about the same percentage of males and females).

· Approximately a quarter (27%) of respondents reported having used marijuana once or more in the last 12 months (32% male vs. 23% female). 

Need Identified from Data

The above data supported discussions by the Juvenile Justice Council that youth in Ford County lack goals and lack involvement in constructive activities and therefore engage in destructive activities.  The council also identified causal factors of peer pressure, parental acceptance, low self-esteem, single parent homes, extra spending money, and easy access as related to substance use. Agencies have challenges with inter-agency coordination, funding, lack of outcome evaluations, and geographical limitations. 

Goal :
 Lower use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other illegal substances by  5%, and postpone onset of usage by six months. (Current use of alcohol 52%, marijuana 27%, and tobacco 34%) 

Objectives:
 OBJ1. Support a youth smoking violation ordinance in all Ford County towns and villages (by town or county). 

      Action Steps
        1. Send letters of support to city councils signed by the Juvenile Justice Council
        2. Form a committee to present smoking issues to town and county boards.
 

 OBJ2. Offer training in research based program for asset building and goal setting. 

      Action Steps
        1. Provide (at least) one teacher workshop (CPDU credit) per year on asset
            building for youth. 
        2. Provide (at least) one parent education program per year, including an asset 
            building component.
        3. Provide (at least) one parent workshop through the schools. 
 

 OBJ3. Maintain or increase prevention messages and/or programs by coordinating
      messages and programs throughout the county. 

      Action Steps
         1. Record prevention programs currently in use in the schools, probation, and 
             the community. 
         2. Evaluate available programs, and recommend programs to use in schools, 
             probation, and the community. 
         3. Provide (at least) one prevention message and/or program in the school, 
             probation, and the community. 

 OBJ4. Increase and coordinate intervention programs

       Action Steps
         1. Record intervention programs currently in use in the schools, probation and
             the community. 
         2. Coordinate with current efforts, evaluate existing programs, and recommend
             new programs.
         3. Increase sponsorship of programs.
 

Components of the interagency agreement specific to achieving the objectives or more generally related to the goal of lowering substance use and age of onset. 

Juvenile Justice System

• Law Enforcement
• Judges, State’s Attorneys
• Public Defenders
• County Board
• Probation 

• Substance Abuse Treatment Agencies 

• Area School Districts

• Community Groups 

Law Enforcement 

Gibson City Police Department

• Provide one committee person for the issue of substance abuse. 
• Provide contact persons at the GCPD, included the Chief of Police, the Senior Officer, and the Juvenile Officer. 
• Assist with information sharing by providing the council with statistics regarding juvenile offenses related to substance abuse. 
• Provide hand outs (pencils, pamplets) to community (as supplies allow) 
• Provide assistance with activities in Gibson City. 

Paxton Police Department 
Agreements pending

Piper City Police Department
Agreements pending

Ford County Sheriff's Department
Agreements pending

Judge and State's Attorney

Circuit Court Judge Steven Pacey
Agreements Pending 

State's Attorney Anthony Lee

• One person will attend full council meetings; when appropriate one person will attend committee meetings. 
• Assist with information sharing by providing the council with statistics regarding juvenile offenses
• Provide hand outs (pamphlets) to the community. 
• Identify and refer at risk youths/families. 
• Fashion sentences/dispositions that require youthful offenders to take responsibility for their actions and repair damages they have done. 
• Support local efforts to reduce or eliminate youth access to alcohol and tobacco.
• Support, encourage and implement orders of protective supervision for parents of court involved youth. 

 

Public Defender's

Harvey Welch 
Agreements Pending

William Dueringer
Agreements Pending
 
 

Ford County Board
Board President Deb Smith 
 

• Provide one person to attend full council meetings keeping in communication with each committee.  When appropriate one or more persons will attend committee meetings representing the board.
• Provide a meeting place for Juvenile Justice Council full council meetings and committee meetings as needed.
• Recognize students who excel in various endeavors.
• Model integrity at home, at the workplace, and in public.  Support and affirm youth when they act with integrity.
• Insist that youth who break the law or violate community standards are not simply punished, but take responsibility for their actions and repair any damage they have done.
• Support local efforts to reduce or eliminate youth access to sexually explicit movies, videos, and magazines, alcohol and tobacco.
• Create a climate in which abstinence by youth is valued and affirmed.

Probation and Court Services

Ford County Probation supports the juvenile justice council and agrees to help achieve the objectives generally related to the goal of lowering substance use and age on onset by the following: 

• Provide one committee person for the issue of substance abuse
• Assist with information sharing by providing the council with statistics             regarding alcohol and substance related offenses and case outcomes. 
• Supervise and refer juveniles to substance abuse agencies and programs. 
• Continue with probation programs that address substance abuse, criminal thinking, and destructive behaviors. 
• Provide a staff sponsor for a high school prevention group.
• Provide meeting space for Juvenile justice council meetings and committee meetings as needed. 

Substance Abuse Treatment Agencies 
 

Prairie Center Health Systems, Inc. 

• Provide school-based programming utilizing best practices curriculums.  These curriculums include, but are not limited to the Botvin’s Life Skills program and Project Alert.  If Prairie Center staff is not able to accommodate the magnitude of the school-based requests, a training of trainers will be offered to teachers interested, so they can facilitate the curriculum/s. 
• Serve on and providing technical assistance to related coalitions in the Ford County area that have alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (ATOD) as their primary focus. 
• Provide information of speakers related to ATOD. 
• Provide information and linkage related to substance abuse treatment, through the Prairie Center treatment programs. 
• Provide ATOD resource materials, including pamphlets, brochures. 
• Provide technical assistance related to best practices in the area to ATOD

Area School Districts

Paxton Buckley Loda District 10 

• Provide contact persons, including but not limited to the principal and health teachers.
• Support the development of a school prevention group, currently Students Against Destructive Decisions.
• Host speakers related to ATOD in health classes. 
• Provide meeting space for meetings and activities, upon approval of the principal. 

• Provide contact person and council member from PACT.
• Conduct survey every 2 years to be used to help measure ATOD trends, use, and beliefs. 
• Provide counseling and SAP interventions for GCMS students exhibiting at-risk behaviors. 
• Collaborate with social service agencies to continue programs in place – Botvin’s Life Skills to 5th grade, and implement additional research based curriculums. 
• Provide prevention information to parents through website, newsletters, materials, and speakers.
• Conduct schoolwide initiatives throughout the year. 

Community Groups
Agreements Pending