MODELS FOR PRACTICE
FOCUS
AREA: SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Program
Name: Project
Forward, a Program of the Center for Community Outreach,
Location:
Healthy
People 2010 Objective: 26-6, 26-9, 26-10, 26-10b, 26-10c, 26-11, 26-15, 26-16, 26-17, 26-23
Web Address: http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/research/dept/outreach
Project Forward is a community-based youth development
program designed to address behavioral health issues, particularly alcohol,
tobacco, and drug abuse. Project Forward is active in 24 community partnerships
and three ethnic communities (Ho Chunk Nation, the Lac Courte Oreilles
Reservation, and the Hmong Association of Wood County) in rural and urban
Blueprint:
Project Forward is a program of the Center for Community Outreach, Marshfield
Clinic. The program serves males and females ages 12-18 and their adult
partners and families by providing technical assistance, consultation,
education, training, and resources to the community partnerships and ethnic
communities. Currently, 1,776 youth are enrolled in the program. Including the
youth, parents, community members, and governmental officials, 3,321 members
are involved in Project Forward. Surveys are administered upon program
initiation to test the hypothesis that youth who are more actively involved in
the learning events throughout the year will have scores that document a
greater level of knowledge, more positive attitudes, and fewer alcohol,
tobacco, and other drug abuse-related behaviors.
The Marshfield Clinic, a
501(c)(3), provides a base budget, facilities, and support services offset by
grants and contracts that also help support the project. Staffing includes 12
full-time professional and support staff, in addition to 21 part-time Project
Forward coordinators, one full-time National Guard member, and 20 AmeriCorps
members. The program is administered at the community level.
The program is
multiphasic and delivered through a variety of channels. Prevention specialists
attend partner community meetings and organize community teams to address the
issue of substance abuse. Project Forward coordinators and AmeriCorps members
are also placed in the community to work with youth. Each Project Forward
community has a prevention services plan that includes a goals statement,
target population, measurable outcome objectives, evaluation component, and
budget. Each plan is tailored to the unique characteristics of each community.
A series of learning events are designed to develop the knowledge and
skills in adults and young people that are needed to change individual lives
and affect community norms. These learning events are hosted by the community
partnerships and ethnic communities. Camps, retreats, and single day learning
events are provided to serve as educational resources for Project Forward
participants.
Making a Difference: Using baseline data collected since 1998, an evaluation strategy
utilizes change scores in knowledge, attitude, and behavior as key outcome
measures. These measures include age or grade of onset, perception of risk and
social disapproval, and recent use. Additionally, the program measures
community-based citizen participation, improved partnership capabilities, and
level of community participation in prevention planning.
Since the program’s inception, it has continued to expand to
include new community partners. Currently, there is a waiting list of
communities interested in implementing the program. Expansion decisions are
based on capacity and funding.
Beginnings: The original stakeholder, the Northwoods
Coalition, was founded in 1995 by a grant from the Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention. The coalition compared rates of alcohol, drug, and tobacco use in
the five counties and three ethnic communities comprising the Northwoods
Coalition to state and national data. For grades 8, 10, and 12, the coalition
member counties and communities reported higher usage rates than the state and
national averages for all substances including alcohol, tobacco, inhalants, and
marijuana. With a Drug Free Community Support Program grant from the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and matching funds from the
Marshfield Medical Research and Education Foundation, Project Forward was
launched in 1998.
Using
funds from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation/Bureau of Transportation
Safety, Wisconsin National Service Board, and the Wisconsin Department of
Health and Family Services (DHFS)
Challenges and Solutions: Distance and weather are the major
challenges faced by the program. Therefore, the program relies on video
conferencing and teleconferencing as well as traditional face-to-face meetings.
Project Forward is
communicated via a variety of avenues locally, regionally, and nationally.
Community involvement, newspapers, a website, and word of mouth are powerful
publicity measures. The project also includes an active approach to networking
across the state. The Center for Community Outreach develops relationships with
prevention providers as well as presenting at conferences and workshops.
Ultimately, program
developers believe it is the quality of the program that has brought the most
attention to the program and gained the most support. A primary goal is to
develop a program that is replicable across communities. The program is
currently under review as a science-based model program by the Pacific
Institute for Research and Evaluation.
Ronda
Kopelke, Director, Center for Community Outreach
Project
Forward, a Program of the Center for Community Outreach
Phone:
(715) 389-3513
Fax:
(715) 389-5925