Comprehensive Community Prevention Plan

Goal A: “Strengthening Youth Connections”

Objective A-1

To mobilize the community through the media and other awareness activities about building resiliency through fostering protective factors for youth and children.

Strategies include developing a public service announcement, an informational video, and a teen theater project.

Objective A-2

To establish ongoing community recognition programs that celebrate the accomplishments of children and youth.

Strategies include publishing the accomplishments of youth and children in local venues, develop an interactive website to celebrate their accomplishments, publishing a collaborative newsletter, and planning 12 intergenerational summits between elders and youth over 3 years.

 Objective A-3

To review school supports for students from the communities of the River Coalition experiencing increased risk factors.  To present findings and recommendations from “Promising Approaches” (Hawkins and Catalano) that could augment any gaps in services.

Strategies include hiring a consultant to review school supports and providing information and resources for schools seeking to increase the supports for youth experiencing increased risk factors.

 Objective A-4

To develop and promote cultural appreciation programs that will aid in creating a school environment that welcomes students and their families from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Strategies include developing a council of youth and adults that will give voice to diversity, developing an in-service training concerning cultural awareness for all school personnel, establishing an annual cultural festival day, and mobilizing community awareness through the River Coalition’s collaborative newsletter and web site.

Objective A-5 To establish programs which increase parent and youth involvement within the schools by 20%. [This group is currently meeting with the Objective B-4 group]

Strategies include developing a work group to explore what works in promoting parent and youth involvement in the schools, having community liaisons adopt a classroom, mobilizing the media to promote opportunities for involvement in the schools, and expanding the “after-hours” use of schools for youth and family activities and services.

 Objective A-6

To focus public attention on the need for community service requirements in school for all students.

The strategy will be to establish a task force of key stakeholders and consultants who will work to obtain community and school support for a community service requirement.

Goal B: “Strengthening Family Management”

Objective B-1

To recruit and train a minimum of 12 parenting consultants to provide support for parents and caregivers throughout the communities of the River Coalition.

Strategies include providing ongoing support, supervision, and training for parent educators.

 Objective B-2

To implement programs that provide parenting strategies for parents and caregivers of children from infancy through adolescence.

Strategies include providing flexible access for parents and caregivers who are seeking assistance in child management skills, collaborating with local resources to provide child care and transportation to group parenting classes, provide a parent resource library, and consult with the U.M. Cooperative Extension to develop a means of attracting customers.

Objective B-3

To develop and implement a community outreach program for expectant and new parents/caregivers that will provide prenatal and early infancy parenting information and support to parents/caregivers.

Strategies include providing parents/caregivers with a “Welcoming Basket,” and collaborating with the Old Town Library’s Birthday Program to provide parenting and child development information and support to parents of preschool age children.

Objective B-4

To strengthen the bonds between the elders and the youth of the River Coalition by creating a community mentoring program that will connect youth with elder mentors.

Strategies include collaborating with local elder and youth service groups and the RSVP project to develop a program of elder volunteer mentors.

Objective B-5

To collaborate with the schools of the River Coalition and assist with the implementation of parenting education curricula for adolescents.

Strategies include consulting with teachers who presently provide parenting education within the schools of the River Coalition communities about the strengths and deficits in this area of the school curriculum, assessing the material needs for these programs, and collaborating to find the resources to meet these needs.

Goal C: “Strengthening Family Relations”

Objective C-1

To develop support groups for parents/caregivers of adolescents experiencing family conflict that meet weekly in three of the River Coalition communities.

Strategies include contracting with the University of Maine’s Cooperative Extension to do basic facilitation skills training and collaborating with local resource persons to provide more specialized training.

Objective C-2

The River Coalition will institute a school and community based conflict resolution program that will provide services to the families of the communities of the River Coalition.

Strategies include implementing a peer mediation program within the high school and  programs in conflict management throughout the elementary school systems in the River Coalition area. We will also train 2 conflict resolution facilitators in each of our six communities and develop a vehicle for ongoing supervision and skills development.

 Objective C-3

To develop and implement an information and resource system for family activities, recreation, and support service that will be easily accessible to all community members.

Strategies include developing a publication and an Internet website that provides a comprehensive list of community resources, collaborating with the “Info Line” of the United Way and Acadia Hospital, and developing a “warm-line” serviced by volunteers.

Community Mobilization Plan (See objective A-1 and A-5)

Rally support for the prevention plan

The Ultimate Dream

Establish a Family and Youth Resource Center

The River Coalition is funded by grants from:

The Maine Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services

Maine’s Communities for Children Program

The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention