HomeMy WebLinkAboutFulton Prevention Needs Assessment
FULTON COUNTY
Drug and Alcohol Prevention Profile
Date Submitted: March 31, 2010
Table of Contents
PART ONE: COUNTY INFORMATION ........................................................................................... 1
PART TWO: PREVENTION NEEDS ASSESSMENT ..................................................................... 4
I. Prevention Needs Assessment Process .................................................................................... 4
A. Needs Assessment Team ....................................................................................................... 4
B. Data Sources Which Were Included in Assessing Need ..................................................... 4
C. BDAP Key Representative Survey on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs ........................ 4
D. BDAP Convenience Survey on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs ................................... 5
E. Method(s) Used for Obtaining Additional Information ..................................................... 5
F. Data Gaps ............................................................................................................................... 5
G. Documenting Findings and Data Sources ........................................................................... 6
II. Analyzing Magnitude and Changeability ................................................................................. 6
III. County-wide Findings & Key Issues ..................................................................................... 6
A. Summary of County-wide Preliminary Findings ................................................................ 6
B. County-wide Key Issue(s) to be Addressed ......................................................................... 6
IV. Specific Target Communities with High Need .................................................................... 9
A. Specific Community Identified as Having High Need ........................................................ 9
B. High Need Issue to be Addressed ......................................................................................... 9
C. Data Source(s) ........................................................................................................................ 9
D. Analysis Process ..................................................................................................................... 9
E. What Type of change is Necessary to Impact the High Need Issue that Has Been
Identified? .................................................................................................................................... 10
V. County-wide and Community-level Capacity ........................................................................ 10
A. Resources (human and financial) Needed to Address Issues Identified......................... 10
B. Existing Prevention Infrastructure in the County and Each Targeted Community ........ 11
C. Strengths and Weaknesses in the Community(s) that May Affect Prevention Effort ..... 11
D. Service Gaps that Have Been Noticed and/or Exist ........................................................... 11
E. Assessment of Cultural Competence throughout County? ................................................ 11
F. Readiness and Leadership to Implement Policies, Programs and Practices ................... 11
Appendix 3 - Needs Assessment Team .......................................................................................... 13
Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources ......................................... 26
PART ONE: COUNTY INFORMATION
Briefly describe the composition and history of the county(s) covered by the SCA (including
SCA option and number of providers, demographics, geographic make-up, historical
information, education, business, resources and any other important information).
Response:
I - Fulton County Information
Fulton County is a small eighth (8th) class county located in south-central Pennsylvania in
the Cumberland Valley. Fulton County is a rural community and has two (2) boroughs
(McConnellsburg, and Valley-Hi) and eleven (11) townships (Ayr, Belfast, Bethel, Brush
Creek, Dublin, Licking Creek, Taylor, Thompson, Todd, Union and Wells).
The county is located in the Appalachian Mountains of south central Pennsylvania along the
Maryland State line. Rectangular in shape, the county is approximately 15 miles wide and
29 miles long; and has an approximate land area of 278,400 acres or 435 square miles.
Ray's Hill Mountain provides the common boundary between Fulton and Bedford Counties
on the west, while the Majestic Cove and Tuscarora Mountains separate Fulton from
Franklin County on the east. Huntingdon County bounds Fulton on the north while the
Mason-Dixon Line between Pennsylvania and Maryland bounds the county on the south.
Sideling Hill is the principal mountain within the county boundaries with an elevation of
2,345 feet. Typical of the Appalachian Mountain area, the county is a series of small,
narrow, flat valleys surrounded by ridges running northeast and southwest
The borough of McConnellsburg is the county seat with a population of 1,073. Fulton
County’s other borough, Valley-Hi, is the county’s smallest municipality with a population
of 20. Ayr Township is the largest municipality in Fulton County with a population of 1,982
followed by Licking Creek (1,532), Todd (1,488), Bethel (1,420) and Belfast (1,341)
Townships.
Fulton County is 100% rural and is served by three (3) school districts (Central Fulton,
Forbes Road, Southern Fulton and two parochial schools). The County has 12 students
enrolled in PA Cyber Schools.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the total Fulton County population is 14,261 (which is a
3.1% increase over the 1990 Census number, just slightly under the Pennsylvania
population increase of 3.4 %.) There are approximately 3,507 people under the age of 18 in
Fulton County (which equals 25% of the total population.)
The County’s population by race and ethnicity includes: 98.3% Caucasian, 0.7% African
American, 0.4% Hispanic/Latino, 0.20% American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.11% Asian
and 0.04% other. Fulton County has 6,790 housing units with a total of 5,660 households.
There is an average of 2.5 persons per household. Median household income in Fulton
County is $34,882.00 while the average earnings per job are $29,851. Approximately
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10.72% of the County’s population and 8.2% of the County’s families live below the federal
poverty level.
Because of the extreme mountainous terrain surrounding the county, transportation and
access to services always top the list in any needs assessments conducted in the county.
Due to the current economic conditions, Fulton County’s largest employer, JLG Industries,
has significantly decreased their workforce. This has caused the county to have a
significantly high unemployment rate. In February 2009 Futon ranked highest in the state
at 16%. Since then unemployment has remained consistently above the state average and
within the top five of Pennsylvania counties.
SCA Options and Providers
The Drug and Alcohol Program (D&A) within Fulton County is comprised of two
departments: Case Management and Prevention.
Case management services for Fulton County is provided by the Franklin/Fulton County
Drug & Alcohol Program. Case managers serve adolescents and adults of all ages. They
conduct treatment assessments, and arrange for consumers to enter treatment facilities and
after care for individuals.
The Intensive Case Management Program is a specialized program designed for certain
clients who are dually diagnosed, heavily involved with criminal justice system, individuals
involved with child welfare, intravenous drug users, clients who continually relapse,
pregnant women, and women with children. Case managers adopt the Disease Concept of
chemical dependency, which sees addiction as progressive and, if left untreated, as life-
threatening.
Franklin/Fulton County Drug & Alcohol Prevention Program contracts with the Fulton
County Center for Families for prevention work within Fulton County. The Center for
Families operates a number of prevention-based activities each year, including:
The Reality Tour, a quarterly drug-prevention program targeting at-risk youth and their
families. The Reality Tour provides students and their parents with a dramatic look at
the consequences of drug use and abuse.
Project Alert, a drug prevention curriculum used with all 6 graders at Central Fulton
th
Schools.
Presentations in the area senior centers, which provide local seniors with information
on a range of topics related to prescription drug safety.
Other county agencies and organizations collaborate to expand the coverage of prevention
activities in the area, particularly within the county’s three school districts. Examples
include:
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Fulton County Medical Center’s Tobacco Prevention program offers prevention
programs in the county’s schools.
Forbes Road School District recently implemented a drug and alcohol testing
program for student athletes.
The local Student Assistance Program coordinates Keeping It Real prevention
curriculum in each of the schools
The Susan Byrnes Center provides education and anti-drug, alcohol and tobacco
messages through the Drug Smart program for 5 graders in the three county
th
school districts.
Forbes Road School District has received a “Safe and Drug Free Schools” grant to
provide for prevention services in the classroom for the last couple of years.
The county’s Children & Youth agency, Human Services Administration and
Center for Families offer an annual conference in April (in recognition of Child
Abuse Prevention month) dedicated to various child abuse/neglect problems
being experienced in the county. Conference topics have included: 2009 –
“Broken Families, Broken Dreams: High, Drunk & Parenting”, 2008 -
“Protecting Children 2008”, 2002 – “Children First”, 2000 – “No Escape” (Kids
and Substance Abuse), 1998 – “When Home Isn’t Safe”, 1997 – “The Impact of
Change”, 1996 – “Keeping Promises To Our Children”, 1994 – “Times of Change,
New Solutions”, 1993 – “Forming New Partnerships, Exploring New Options.”
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PART TWO: PREVENTION NEEDS ASSESSMENT
The Prevention Needs Assessment is designed to profile population needs, resources and
readiness to address needs and gaps. The process involves the collection and analysis of
data to define problems within a geographic area.
The SCAs must use a data driven decision-making process to determine which key issues
will be addressed, as well as the risk and protective factors influencing this key issues.
Effective prevention programs and strategies are essential to successfully reduce risk and
enhance protective factors in specific targeted populations and geographic areas and to
impact the identified issues.
The SCA must submit their Prevention Needs Assessment to BDAP in accordance with the
BDAP Report Schedule.
Prevention Needs Assessment Process
I.
Needs Assessment Team
A.
(See Appendix 3)
______________________________________________________________
Data Sources Which Were Included in Assessing Need
B.
(List and describe each data source utilized for assessing your county’s ATOD needs.)
Some examples could include: Surveys – National Outcome Measures, PA Youth Survey, Social
Indicator/Archival data – Crime, poverty and school data, Non-traditional data sets – PBPS, local community
data
Response:
Social Indicator - Uniform Crime Report
PA Police Report Adult and Juvenile Crime
2009, 2007 PAYS surveys
Community surveys
BDAP Key Representative Surveys & BDAP Convenience Surveys
_____________________________________________________________
BDAP Key Representative Survey on Alcohol, Tobacco and
C.
Other Drugs
Explain how the BDAP Key Representative Surveys was administered and provide
justification regarding the number administered (to include the actual number
administered)
Response:
The BDAP Key Representative Survey was administered to members of Fulton
County based on their expert knowledge in various areas of the community affected
by substance use. These individuals were identified during a Community
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Partnership meeting on 11/17/09 utilizing BDAP’s suggested categories including:
D&A Providers, Human Service Organizations, Youth and Youth Organizations, Law
Enforcement, Schools in the district, Medical Service and Professionals, Business
and Industry Members, Local Government Representatives, Legal and Court System
Providers, Parent Groups, Service Organizations in the County, Community
Coalition Members and Clergy and Faith Based Organizations. Surveys were
completed via hard copy surveys and distribution through email utilizing survey
monkey. A total of 36 completed Key Representative Surveys were collected; this
represents approximately 12 representatives from each of the three county school
districts identified as communities for the survey.
_____________________________________________________________
BDAP Convenience Survey on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other
D.
Drugs
If administered, briefly explain how the BDAP Convenience Survey was
administered and to whom
Response:
The Convenience Survey was administered to the Fulton County Local Inter-Agency
Coordinating Council (LICC) in hard copy format and was completed by individuals
who participate in PTO meetings, Early Head Start Policy Council and Parent (KISS)
Group.
_____________________________________________________________
Method(s) Used for Obtaining Additional Information
E.
(e.g. - public forums, listening sessions, focus groups, interviews, surveys, observations, etc.)
Response:
The method used to gather additional information was conducted by distributing
interview questions to specific focus groups who were deemed as pivotal community
members. We enlisted the assistance of the following representatives: Fulton County
State Police, the school Principals at Forbes Road High School, Central Fulton High
School and Southern Fulton High School and the Fulton County Probation
Department. Those participating were asked to discuss their personal opinions on
drug use trends, needs, and the community strengths and barriers to reducing
substance abuse.
_____________________________________________________________
Data Gaps
F.
(Briefly identify any data gaps that were identified)
Response:
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The data gaps in identifying information during this survey process occurred in two
areas: surveys that were distributed and were not completed or returned, and the
surveys that were returned but were incomplete.
Due to the absence of municipal police, there was no municipal police data available
for Fulton County.
_____________________________________________________________
Documenting Findings and Data Sources
G.
(See Appendix 4)
______________________________________________________________
Analyzing Magnitude and Changeability
II.
(See Appendix 4)
_____________________________________________________________
County-wide Findings & Key Issues
III.
Summary of County-wide Preliminary Findings
A.
Response:
Accessibility of alcohol and extensive use by youth – driving under the influence
High inhalant use by youth
Limited local prevention programming
Higher than average tobacco usage, both cigarette and smokeless tobacco
Lack of transportation to access prevention programming
High number of youth using prescription drugs for non-medical uses
High number of youth reporting symptoms of depression
______________________________________________________________
County-wide Key Issue(s) to be Addressed
B.
(Please provide the following information for each county-wide key issue that has been identify and
will be addressed)
County-wide key issue
Response: Alcohol is easily accessible and prevalently used by Fulton County youth.
Baseline data & source
Response: 59.9% youth reported lifetime prevalence-of-use rate, 14.3 students
reported using alcohol in past 30 days, 9.2% students reported being drunk or
high at school in the past year (2007 PAYS)
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Key representative surveys
Influencing risk factor(s)
(Please indicate the risk factors that have been identified as influencing this issue.)
Response: Parent attitude
Protective factor(s) to be enhanced
(Please indicate the protective factors that have been identified as needing to be enhanced to
impact issue.)
Response: Perception of harm, family involvement, involved in extra-
curricular activities
County-wide key issue
Response: High number of youth driving under the influence of alcohol
Baseline data & source
Response: 18.8% of Forbes Road 12 grade students reported driving after
th
alcohol use. 25.5% of Central Fulton 12 grade students reported driving after
th
alcohol use (2007 PAYS).
Community member reports
Influencing risk factor(s)
Response: Availability of ATOD, Perceived Risk/Harm of Substance Abuse,
Lack of Monitoring/Supervision, Family Management Problems
Protective factor(s) to be enhanced
Response: Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards, High Monitoring of Youth
Activities, No ATOD use/Abuse
County-wide key issue
Response: High inhalant use among Fulton County youth.
Baseline data & source
Response: 7.8% youth reported lifetime use (2007 PAYS)
84.7% Key Representative Respondents reported easy accessibility.
Influencing risk factor(s)
Response: Availability of ATOD
Protective factor(s) to be enhanced
Response: Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards, No ATOD Use/Abuse
County-wide key issue
Response: Limited availability of prevention programming locally
Baseline data & source
Response: 2010 BDAD needs assessment, convenience surveys, and
interviews with high school principles, PSP, and Probation.
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Influencing risk factor(s)
Response: Perceived risk/harm of substance abuse, favorable attitudes toward
substance use.
Protective factor(s) to be enhanced
Response: Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards, No ATOD Use/Abuse, norm
of positive behavior
County-wide key issue
Response: Fulton County youth have higher than average tobacco usage, both
cigarette and smokeless tobacco
Baseline data & source
Response: Combined use of tobacco products ranked highest among Fulton County
students who reported lifetime prevalence-of-use rates for cigarettes at 39.1% and
smokeless tobacco at 28.9% for a combined rate of 68%.
96.2% Fulton Key representatives in all three communities felt that tobacco products
were easily obtained by youth.
39.1% of Fulton County students have used cigarettes at least once in their lifetime.
28.9% of Fulton County students have used smokeless tobacco at least once in their
lifetime. (2007 PAYS)
Influencing risk factor(s)
Response: Perceived risk/harm of substance abuse, favorable attitude toward
substance use, availability of ATOD
Protective factor(s) to be enhanced
Response: Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards, Norm of positive behavior,
No ATOD Use/Abuse
County-wide key issue
Response: High number of Fulton County youth abusing prescription drugs
Baseline data & source
Response: 77% key representative respondents reported easy access, 2007
PAYS showed higher than national average use.
Influencing risk factor(s)
Response: Availability of ATOD, Perceived risk/harm of substance abuse
Protective factor(s) to be enhanced
Response: Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards, Autonomy, Sense of purpose
and belief in a bright future, No ATOD use/abuse
County-wide key issue
Response: High number of youth reporting feeling symptoms of depression
Baseline data & source
Response: 2007 PAYS data shows that students consistently report feelings of
sadness, worthlessness and failure across all grades.
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Influencing risk factor(s)
Response: Lack of Clear Healthy Beliefs and Standards from Parents, Schools,
and Community, Family Management Problems, Low Neighborhood
Attachment
Protective factor(s) to be enhanced
Response: Community Bonding, Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards,
Availability of constructive recreation, norms of positive behavior, pro-social
opportunities, sense of purpose and belief in a bright future
___________________________________________________________
Specific Target Communities with High Need
IV.
Please provide the following information for each community-level issue that has been identified and
will be addressed based upon your community-level data.
The communities whose data established a high need exists where all three areas
surveyed in Fulton County including Forbes Road School District, Central Fulton
School District and Southern Fulton School District.
Specific Community Identified as Having High Need
A.
(A community is defined as a particular geographic location such as municipalities, cities, towns, boroughs,
colleges/campuses, school districts, neighborhoods, etc.)
Response:
Central Fulton School District
______________________________________________________________
High Need Issue to be Addressed
B.
Response:
Limited opportunities for youth to engage in positive after-school activities.
______________________________________________________________
Data Source(s)
C.
Response:
The high need areas of Fulton County were determined by the data utilized from the
Key Representative Surveys and classification of offenses from the Uniform Crime
Report 2009.
______________________________________________________________
Analysis Process
D.
(Briefly describe the process used for determining this community-level high need issue)
Response:
Two analytical strategies employed. One qualitative: coding responses to open-
ended questions asked in key representative surveys and identified community
leader surveys. One quantitative: key representative responses above 60% were
chosen as high need issues.
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_____________________________________________________________
What Type of change is Necessary to Impact the High Need
E.
Issue that Has Been Identified?
(Examples: Increase parental participation; increase perception of risk; decrease availability of alcohol; decrease
30-day use of marijuana)
Response: The types of changes necessary to impact the high need issues identified
in the analysis of Fulton County’s data include:
Increasing mandatory school programs for education of drug prevention;
establishing a scared-straight series for high impact of consequences; possible
increase fines and consequences for all offenses of drug use, DUI’s, loitering, and
other crimes of concern to send a message of intolerance on the part of the police
and community; increase parental participation in educational programs; increase
parental responsibility for fines and arrests of minor children; provide opportunities
for positive youth activities in the community; develop local AA and NA affiliated
programs in Fulton County; offer a local drug and alcohol facility in the community;
increase funding to support law enforcement and prevention resources; establish a
community watch program; offer qualified outpatient treatment providers in the
community; and increase community transportation availability with a fleet of bus
transportation services.
Influencing risk factor(s)
(Please indicate the risk factors that have been identified as influencing this issue.)
Response: Low Neighborhood Attachment, Laws and Norms Favorable to
Substance Abuse, Perceived Risk/Harm of Substance Abuse, Favorable Attitudes
Toward Substance Abuse, Family Management Problems, Favorable Parental
Attitudes Toward ATOD Abuse.
Protective factor(s) to be enhanced
(Please indicate the protective factors that have been identified as needing to be enhanced to
impact issue.)
Response: Community Bonding, Healthy Beliefs and Clear Standards,
Community Supported Substance Abuse Prevention Efforts and Programs, Norm
of Positive Behavior, Pro-social Opportunities, Sinse of Purpose and Belief in a
Bright Future, Positive Family Dynamics, No ATOD Use/Abuse.
Additional comments
Response:
County-wide and Community-level Capacity
V.
Resources (human and financial) Needed to Address Issues
A.
Identified
Response:
A prevention specialist for each school district is needed in order to coordinate,
facilitate and direct the prevention efforts. This is necessary in order to reach every
resident with effective prevention programs; develop and implement a centralized
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prevention center fully staffed during after school and weekend hours to provide
healthy alternative activities; sufficient funding to accommodate the above; and
restoration of tobacco prevention funding through master settlement funds.
______________________________________________________________
Existing Prevention Infrastructure in the County and Each
B.
Targeted Community
Response:
Franklin/Fulton SCA Administrator, Franklin/Fulton SCA Prevention Specialist,
Fulton County Center for Families, Fulton County Partnership, Fulton County
Communities That Care, Community Coalition for the Prevention of Substance Use
and Abuse, Susan Byrnes Center, Fulton County Medical Center, Women In Need,
Head Start, McConnellsburg Middle School evidenced-based curriculum.
______________________________________________________________
Strengths and Weaknesses in the Community(s) that May
C.
Affect Prevention Effort
Strengths: Strong collaborative board- Fulton County Partnership, CTC, and school
district administration, as well as county commissioners.
Weaknesses: Transportation, favorable community attitudes, isolation of
individuals, lack of effective local law enforcement, funding limitations, limited
choice of local service providers, no in-county prevention specialist, limited ability to
provide prevention services in the school day due to academic requirements.
______________________________________________________________
Service Gaps that Have Been Noticed and/or Exist
D.
Response: in addition to the above (c), no comprehensive prevention programming
exists, low community involvement in prevention efforts, not all schools participate
in the PAYS survey.
______________________________________________________________
Assessment of Cultural Competence throughout County
E.
Response: Have had an increase in Spanish speaking citizens, as noted by increased
attendance of Spanish speaking children in early childhood child care.
______________________________________________________________
Readiness and Leadership to Implement Policies, Programs
F.
and Practices
Response: Key leaders, motivated community members, and concerned citizens in
both Franklin and Fulton counties are coming together to discuss prevention efforts
and participate through meetings and activities of the Community Coalition for the
11
Prevention of Substance Use and Abuse. Additionally, Fulton County was awarded
seed money to start a local Communities That Care.
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Needs Assessment Team
Appendix 3 -
SCA: Franklin/Fulton County Drug and Alcohol Program
(Individuals assisting with your Prevention Needs Assessment Process)
(Please provide the following information for each member of your county’s Needs Assessment Team)
Job Title / Agency/OrganizatioRole /
Name
Occupation n Responsibility
Becky Greenawalt SCA, Program Franklin/Fulton County Data analysis, reviewer,
AdministratorDrug and Alcoholsubmit plan to BDAP
Christy Russell SCA, Fiscal Officer Franklin County Human Data analysis, reviewer
Services
Lauri Ryder SCA, Prevention Franklin/Fulton County Data analysis, reviewer,
SpecialistDrug and Alcoholteam lead, combine
plans, submit plan to
SCA administrator
Alaina Ingels Grant Writer Franklin County Grants Interviews, data
Managementanalysis, reviewer
Carrie Jenkins Grant Writer Franklin County Grants Data analysis
Management
Jean Snyder County Human Service Fulton County Data analysis, reviewer
Administrator
Christy Unger Prevention Education Healthy Communities Data analysis, research,
Coordinator, Coalition Partnership, Community administration of
SecretaryCoalition for the surveys, interviews, data
Prevention of Substance entry, document writer
Use & Abuse
Stacy McCole Grants Coordinator, Healthy Communities Research,
Coalition 1 ChairPartnership, Community Administration of
st
Coalition for the surveys, data analysis,
Prevention of Substance data entry
Use & Abuse
Elen Ott Executive Director Fulton County Center for Data analysis, research,
Familiesadministration of
surveys, interviews, data
entry, document writer
Debbie Hiller Family Education Fulton County Center for Data analysis, research,
CoordinatorFamiliesadministration of
surveys, interviews, data
entry
Jamie Taylor Communities That Care Fulton County Center for Data analysis, reviewer
Community MobilizerFamilies
Julie Dovey Executive Director Fulton County Data analysis, reviewer
Partnership
Sheri Morgan Parent, Coalition Community Coalition for Interviews, data analysis
memberthe Prevention of
Substance Use and
Abuse
**please see below**
**Additional members from many organizations and sectors participated in the process of reviewing Needs Assessment work at
Community Coalition for the Prevention of Substance Use and Abuse meetings over the past months. Attendance ranges from 15-35
members from many backgrounds including local government, elected officials, healthcare officials, media, educators, law enforcement,
youth, civic groups, parents, business owners, and other organizations involved in prevention efforts.
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Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#1
Finding:
Alcohol is easily accessible and prevalently used by Fulton County youth.
Data Source:
2007 PAYS
2010 BDAP Key Representative Survey
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted:
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
Over 97% of Key Representative Respondents felt that alcohol was easily
accessible to youth in all three county communities.
Fulton County youth reported a 59.9% lifetime prevalence-of-use rate.
14.3 Fulton students reported using alcohol within the past 30 days.
In Fulton County, 9.2% of students report being drunk or high at school in the
past year making it the most prevalent of anti-social behaviors.
46% of Key Representatives surveyed replied that alcohol use by minors is
tolerated in our community.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
Expanded use of already available school-based curriculums including “Project
Alert” and “PATHS” could assist efforts.
Newly established (1/2010) CTC program in Fulton will be an asset to prevention
programming.
County leaders are actively participating in a bi-county Community Coalition for
the Prevention of Substance Use and Abuse.
County leaders are supportive of expanding alcohol prevention programming.
Local non-profit organization is researching the possibility of sponsoring the
“Save A Life” program.
Fulton County Center for Families is currently providing some prevention
services through Franklin/Fulton SCA funds.
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How important is this issue to the community?
Alcohol is consistently listed as one of the leading concerns in our community as
noted by the Fulton County Partnership (collaborative board) and Fulton County
Human Service Administrator.
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
Decrease in number of Fulton County youths engaged in underage drinking
Decrease in number of alcohol related crimes and costs to community
Increased school achievement and attendance
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
Parental Attitudes favorable toward Antisocial Behavior
Limited parent support for prevention efforts
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Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#2
Finding:
High number of youth driving under the influence of alcohol
Data Source:
2007 PAYS
BDAP Key Representative Survey
Responses by county high-school Principals and PA State Police to survey
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted:
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
At Forbes Road School 18.8% of 12 grade students reported driving after alcohol
th
use.
At Central Fulton 25.5 of 12 grade students reported driving after alcohol use.
th
Community members report that alcohol is easily accessible to minors.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
Expanded use of already available school-based curriculums including “Project
Alert” and “PATHS” could assist efforts.
Newly established (1/2010) CTC program in Fulton will be an asset to prevention
programming.
County leaders are actively participating in a bi-county Community Coalition for
the Prevention of Substance Use and Abuse.
County leaders are supportive of expanding alcohol prevention programming.
Local non-profit organization is researching the possibility of sponsoring the
“Save A Life” program.
Fulton County Center for Families is currently providing some prevention
services through Franklin/Fulton SCA funds.
Student SADD groups active in 2 of the 3 county schools
How important is this issue to the community?
Alcohol is consistently listed as one of the leading concerns in our community as
noted by the Fulton County Partnership (collaborative board) and Fulton County
Human Service Administrator.
School Administration reports high concerns about the number of students
involved in alcohol use when driving.
16
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
Decrease in number of Fulton County youths engaged in underage drinking
Decrease in number of alcohol related crimes and costs to community
Increased school achievement and attendance
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
Challenges to involve parents in prevention efforts
May be difficult to change community perceptions/acceptance of behavior
Alcohol is easily accessible to minors in our community
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Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#3
Finding:
High inhalant use among Fulton County youth
Data Source:
2007 PAYS
2010 BDAP Key Representative Surveys
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted:
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
84.7% of Key Representative Respondents reported that inhalants were easily
accessible to youth in all 3 Fulton communities. The remaining 15.3% were
unable to determine availability; answering “Don’t Know”.
Fulton youth report lifetime inhalant use at 7.8%.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
Expanded use of already available school-based curriculums including “Project
Alert” and “PATHS” could assist efforts.
Newly established (1/2010) CTC program in Fulton will be an asset to prevention
programming.
County leaders are actively participating in a bi-county Community Coalition for
the Prevention of Substance Use and Abuse.
How important is this issue to the community?
Inhalant use is one of the top 4 concerns related to ATOD by our County
Administrator and Partnership Collaborative Board.
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
Decrease in the number of youth using inhalants
Decrease in the availability of inhalants to youth
Increase in youth’s awareness of the dangers associated with inhalant use
Increase in adult’s of signs/symptoms of inhalant use
Increase in adult’s knowledge of ways to limit youth’s access to inhalants
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
Parental apathy
Limited parent/community awareness of signs/symptoms of use
Funding limitations to wide-spread prevention programming
18
Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#4
Finding:
Limited availability of prevention programming locally
Data Source:
2010 BDAP Needs Assessment – Key representatives, convenience surveys and
antidotal information collected from county high school principles, PSP and
Probation.
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted:
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
All Fulton County youth, their parents, businesses, schools and community at
large are impacted negatively by the limited prevention education.
Youth by the negative health impacts, school performance, tendency towards
delinquency, low academic achievement, involvement in violence and increased
anxiety and depression.
Parents by the added stressors of parenting youth who are involved with
use/abuse of ATOD, expenses related to treatment, strains on the parent/child
relationship and limited knowledge of appropriate prevention strategies that
could asset them to effectively parent their child.
Business and community members are affected by the decrease in viable
employment candidates, limited ability to develop economic community
development and increase in theft/violence.
Schools are forced to spend increased amount of the annual budget on
disciplinary/supervision of students and grounds and are also impacted by higher
dropout rates and lower student academic performance.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
Newly funded (as of 1/2010) Communities That Care program in Fulton County
will assist in addressing prevention planning/programming.
County leaders are actively participating in a bi-county Community Coalition for
the Prevention of Substance Use and Abuse.
How important is this issue to the community?
Over 66% of county-wide key representative express concern about anti-social
behaviors including crime, drug selling, fights and drug overdoses.
19
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
Providing prevention/educational programming to increase the protective factors
in our county that would result in a decrease in ATOD usage and risky youth
behaviors.
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
Limited funding provided to bi-county SCA supports only one prevention
specialist for both counties.
Discontinuation of tobacco prevention programming delivered locally by Fulton
County Medical Center is a huge blow to prevention programming in Fulton
County.
20
Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#5
Finding:
Fulton County youth have higher than average tobacco usage, both cigarette and
smokeless tobacco.
Data Source:
2007 PAYS
2010 BDAP Key Representative Survey
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted:
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
Combined use of tobacco products ranked highest among Fulton County students
who reported lifetime prevalence-of-use rates for cigarettes at 39.1% and
smokeless tobacco at 28.9% for a combined rate of 68%.
96.2% Fulton Key representatives in all 3 communities felt that tobacco products
were easily obtained by youth.
39.1% of Fulton County students have used cigarettes at least once in their
lifetime.
28.9% of Fulton County students have used smokeless tobacco at least once in
their lifetime.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
This could be addressed by providing increased public awareness of effects of
tobacco use, increasing educational programming beginning in schools with
elementary students combined with parent education.
Expand use of “Clean Air for Healthy Children” with families of preschool
children in educational programs and by health care providers.
How important is this issue to the community?
Tobacco use has been a priority of Fulton. Since the inception of the Tobacco
Prevention Program funded through PA DOH we have actively fought to reduce
the numbers of our youth using tobacco products, parent tolerance and reduce
the accessibility to tobacco by youth.
Fulton County Partnership (collaborative board) served as the Tobacco
Prevention Board during the time funding permitted activity.
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
Improved health of residents throughout county
Decrease health costs due to tobacco-related diseases
21
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
Discontinuation of Tobacco Prevention funding through local providers
Parent apathy and acceptance of behavior
Increase in number of business selling tobacco products to youth due to
termination of compliance checks
22
Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#6 Finding:
Lack of public transportation
Data Source:
2010 BDAP Community Assessment
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted:
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
86% of key representatives responded that public transportation was not
available in our county.
Fulton has no public transportation system in this 100% rural county
Availability of prevention services are generally limited by participants access to
transportation.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
Public transportation would not be a priority at this time for Fulton; however
creative programming that is incorporated into existing community or school-
based initiatives or school-based, combined with utilization of internet to offer
self-study options to parents/youth could effectively address accessibility issues.
How important is this issue to the community?
Addressing the transportation issues of Fulton County is one of the agenda items
of the Fulton County Partnership Collaborative Board.
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
Increased parent and youth attendance and completion compliance at preventing
programming events.
Increase in number and variety of prevention opportunities available for
residents.
Decrease in number of youth participating in ATOD use and exhibiting risky
behaviors.
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
Economic and geographic challenges are significant barriers to effectively
addressing transportation issues in Fulton county.
Funding to support expanded prevention programming menu.
23
Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#7 Finding:
High number of Fulton County youth abusing prescription drugs
Data Source:
2007 PAYS
2010 BDAP Key Representative Survey
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted:
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
77% of key representatives reported that youth in Fulton County have easy access
to prescription drugs for non-medical reasons.
2007 PAYS survey demonstrated higher than national average nonmedical
prescription drug use in both school districts participating in the survey. 2009
Data not yet available.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
A sustained community approach to reducing youth’s access to prescription
drugs for non-medical use could be implemented.
This was included as one of the areas of concern in a recent application to Drug
Free Communities grant which was submitted by Healthy Communities
Partnership to fund the Franklin/Fulton Community Coalition for the Prevention
of Substance Use and Abuse.
How important is this issue to the community?
Prescription drug abuse has been listed as one of four leading concerns by Fulton
County’s Human Service Administrator and other leaders surveyed in the BDAP
Needs Assessment.
On the list of concerns of Community Coalition.
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
Improvements to the overall health and well-being of youth
Decrease in violence and crime in our communities
Increased school performance and attendance rates
Decreased burden on our health care system
24
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
It is anticipated that it will be difficult to enlist the cooperation of health
providers and pharmacies.
Limited funding could reduce the impact of our efforts.
May encounter challenges in securing parental involvement in prevention effort.
25
Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#8
Finding:
High number of youth reporting feeling symptoms of depression.
Data Source:
2007 PAYS survey
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted:
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
2007 PAYS
data shows that students consistently report feelings of sadness,
worthlessness and failure across all grades. At Southern Fulton 40.4% and at
Forbes Road 31.3% of students overall grades 6 through 12 reporting feelings
thth
of depression.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
Could be included in new Communities That Care Initiative formed in Fulton
1/2010.
How important is this issue to the community?
Strong community, school & church support of youth.
Strong support of county administration for mental health/healthy behaviors
programming in community.
Good collaborative working relationships among providers: schools, community-
based organizations, county programming.
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
Decrease in number of youth resorting to use of drugs and alcohol to mask their
problems.
Decrease in incidents of youth violence related to use of drugs and alcohol.
Increase in academic achievement and school attendance.
Increase parental support to encourage youth to seek services to deal with mental
health issues.
Increase in professionals of mental health resources and signs/symptoms of
anxiety and depression.
26
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
Limited access to mental health services related to distance and transportation.
Possible reluctance among youth and parents to utilize mental health services
due to stigma.
Difficulty obtaining permission from parents to allow students into existing SAP
program.
Parent apathy and economic may make success challenging.
27
Appendix 4 - Documenting Preliminary Findings and Data Sources
(Please provide the following information for each of your preliminary findings)
#9
Finding:
Limited opportunities for youth to engage in positive after-school activities.
Data Source:
BDAP Key Representative Survey
Level of Impact:
County-level
Community-level issue
If community-level, please indicate community(s) impacted: Central
Fulton School District - McConnellsburg
Magnitude & Changeability
How many people are affected by the problem and the severity of its
effects?
(Include information on the amount, age, gender and race of those affected, if known.)
83.3% of key representatives from Central Fulton report that there are large
number of youths loitering on streets in McConnellsburg and surrounding areas.
How feasible is it to address this issue?
Existing Parks and Recreation Committee in Fulton could assist in providing
more positive opportunities for youth.
One of the goals of the Community Coalition for the Prevention of Substance Use
and Abuse is to provide more youth oriented positive activities with educational
topics.
CTC could assist in addressing this area.
May be able to identify more community resources willing to provide youth
activities i.e.: churches and community organizations.
How important is this issue to the community?
As demonstrated by the buy in from local municipalities to the Parks and
Recreation Commission our local leaders value positive recreations opportunities
for youth.
What are the possible impacts and/or consequences of addressing the
problem?
More positive parent/child interactions
Increased participation in positive activities among youth
Decreased number of youth feeling detached from community
28
What barriers / resistance might there be to solving this issue & how might
they be minimized?
Funding may limit provision of opportunities for youth.
Distance and limited transportation may limit youths’ ability to participate in
activities.
29