MONTE VISTA—The Rio Grande Prevention Partners (RGPP) Community Board met Tuesday, Jan. 9 for their monthly coalition meeting. This meeting marked a major milestone for RGPP, which is using the Communities that Care grant and model to prevent youth substance and alcohol use, as the coalition members refined a list of risk and protective factors to focus their efforts on two risk factors and one protective factor.

The risk factors selected are “Low Neighborhood Attachment and Community Disorganization” and “Early Initiation of Problem Behavior (substance use).” The selected protective factor highlighted a positive trait already existing in the community of Rio Grande County, “Opportunities for Pro-social Involvement in the Family, School and Community Domains.”

These risk and protective factors were selected following the work of the community assessment and data workgroup, which sorted through data from answers on the most recent Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS), which is presented to middle school and high school students statewide every two years. 

The risk factors indicate weaknesses in the school, community and family domains, which lead to the possibility of youth using substances.

The protective factors are strengths already found in the community, school and family domains which are positive influences on youth and are a means of reliable support for them not to use substances.  The workgroup found the risk factors and protective factors in Rio Grande County which were unique to the county when compared to the San Luis Valley region and the state of Colorado and discussed which ones could be most easily impacted through RGPP’s efforts.

The data workgroup sent a list of six risk factors and three protective factors to the Key Leader Board for them to refine. The Key Leader Board recently consolidated with the regional Interagency Oversight Group, which includes leaders and administrators from local school districts, public health agencies, substance abuse treatment agencies, healthcare providers, law enforcement agencies and other relevant organizations who meet quarterly to discuss common concerns and improving processes and communication between agencies.

The Key Leader Board selected four risk factors for the Community Board, which includes members from local youth councils from Monte Vista and Del Norte high schools, parents, educators, recreation department staff/coaches, healthcare representatives, social services staff, public health staff, youth organizations like the Monte Vista Kids Connection and High Valley Community Center staff, local government leaders and other vital contributors and leaders in the community, to narrow down the risk factors to the ones selected.

“Low neighborhood attachment and community disorganization” was selected by the Community Board as the following traits exist in Rio Grande County: higher adult violent crimes, but lower property crimes, a “nothing to do” mentalitly/reality for youth and possible connections to academic failure.

“Early Initiation of Problem Behavior (substance use)” was selected based on the following criteria: all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs and marijuana use) is higher in Rio Grande County than the state of Colorado (based on the percentage of students who disclosed on the HKCS they have used them). Disclosed youth alcohol and marijuana use are both higher in Rio Grande County than the San Luis Valley region. Early initiation of marijuana use is reported at 15.6 percent of the students surveyed in Rio Grande County and 11.8 percent of students in the region, and alcohol use was similarly 2.3 percent higher. With early initiation of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use averaged together, the difference was 1.7 percent higher in Rio Grande County than the region, and five percent higher than the state. The Community Board also noted other facts backing their decision, including, the brain does not finish developing until age 25, there is a high danger of addiction the earlier the use and another related risk factor was noted, the perceived “availability of substances,” specifically alcohol and tobacco, was notable.  

RGPP will now take the selected risk factors and look for evidence-based and data-driven Communities that Care programs and efforts they can implement to address these issues. The protective factor selected will also be reinforced through the selected programs but won’t be addressed separately, as local schools, communities and families are already presenting opportunities for youth to get involved and be recognized for their positive work.

Selecting the programs will bring RGPP to the end of the fourth step in the five-step Communities that Care plan, outlined below by the Center for Communities that Care, University of Washington. 

Getting Started: all the behind-the-scenes work to get a community ready to go. Key Community leaders decide to bring CTC into the community. They, in turn, invite a diverse group of stakeholders to get involved.

Get Organized:  where you form a community board, organize into workgroups and develop a task list and a timeline to carry out the next steps.

Create a Profile: all about assessment. This is where you look at date from your community’s youth to create a profile of the priorities.

Create a Plan: where you put all of this work together to create an action plan for your community’s prevention network.

Implement and Evaluate:  where you put all of this planning into action!  You implement the programs, policies and strategies that you choose; and you measure results and track progress over time to see if you’re getting the improvement in kids’ health and behavior that you planned for.

The fifth step will be evaluated and repeated as necessary to get positive, measurable outcomes for Rio Grande County. The programs selected are also required by the Communities That Care process to utilize the Social Development Strategy as the framework for working with youth. This strategy uses the foundation of clear standards, bonding and acknowledging the individual characteristics of the involved youth, while providing them with opportunities, skills and recognition to keep them on the path to healthy behaviors.

RGPP’s Community Board has also decided to work on addressing the difficult topic of youth suicide in the San Luis Valley. The Community Board discussed the importance of addressing bullying with youth and establishing more resources, like the 2017 Youth Summit held in Alamosa, to provide youth with tools to help their peers in crisis and stop bullying in their social circles and schools.