STRATEGIC PLAN

Vision: Newaygo County is constantly moving toward being free from abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and their related consequences.

Mission: “The Coalition’s members in cooperation with students, parents, and community service agencies, resolve to provide a safe, healthy, and positive environment that leads our children to become caring, contributing citizens.”

The Coalition for A Safe & Drug-Free Newaygo County Substance Abuse Prevention Goals

The Coalition for A Safe & Drug-Free Newaygo County was established in 1992 by the NC Police School Liaison Office in joint agreement with NC Community Mental Health, NC Sheriff’s Office, NC Prosecutor and other county agencies and is dedicated to the prevention and reduction of substance abuse throughout Newaygo County. The Coalition is united through this common concern and is a committed advocate against substance abuse. The communities of the county are well served through a responsible, clear-minded and visionary deliberation process that directs its limited financial resources toward the most effective coordination of services. The coalition assures that complete, supportive services are rendered with care, compassion and understanding. Two goals of the Coalition that drive this outcome are to provide technical assistance to the county provider network and to evaluate needs of the communities.

In the face of stagnant funding yet growing demands for services, the Coalition will partner with prevention providers to develop new approaches in programming in an attempt to meet the changing needs of the region. The Coalition engaged in a comprehensive dialogue process with providers starting in October 2004. This strategic substance abuse prevention plan is one outcome of this dialogue. This plan represents a collaborative effort among the county staff and partners who share an interest in creating a more effective response to substance abuse in their communities. Individual providers will be guided by this plan to engage in collaborative work that will maximize community involvement and interest in addressing this important but often neglected issue. The Coalition will work to assure that our county establishes a county-wide coalition to address the six goals outlined in this plan. These goals focus on the two salient areas of Systems Outcomes (Coalition Development and Data Driven Decision-Making) and Behavioral Outcomes (Alcohol, Tobacco, Methamphetamine, and Special High Risk Populations). These six goals are:

By 2008-2009, Newaygo County will have a more efficient Coalition that will act as an independent, formalized, multi-sector, county-wide coalition whose mission will be to coordinate, plan, and evaluate a comprehensive county-wide strategy to address locally determined risk and protective factors and achieve changes in substance use behaviors prioritized by the communities, law enforcement, health agencies, schools and citizens.

By 2009, Newaygo County will have a comprehensive data collection process that relies on local, reliable survey measures and archival indicators measuring youth risk and protective factors, substance abuse behaviors among youth and other prioritized and underserved populations (e.g. Hispanics, people with disabilities, elderly, adults in the workplace, children of substance abusers) as identified by the coalition, and an assessment of the level and reach of substance abuse prevention services in the county.

By 2009, there will be reductions in alcohol use by youth (10-16) and college age youth (17-20), and misuse and abuse of alcohol by adults in Newaygo County.

By 2009, there will be a reduction of cigarette smoking and chewing tobacco use rates and an increase in age of initiation of smoking and chewing tobacco and a decrease in smoking prevalence among youth (10-17) in Newaygo County.

By 2009, there will be reduced methamphetamine availability and use in Newaygo County as measured by social indicator proxy measures (e.g. arrests for methamphetamine production, methamphetamine lab seizures and methamphetamine related treatment admissions).

By 2009, Newaygo County will utilize localized data to assess the needs of specific populations at highest risk for substance use/abuse, address prioritized needs through (the implementation of evidence based strategies, and evaluate the outcomes of the interventions, changes in related factors that influence the targeted substance using behaviors, and changes in substance using behaviors by the target population.

The salient outcome of this work will be to strengthen a seamless system of prevention services for Newaygo County, anchored by a long-term strategic plan that guides us as we:

Through Newaygo County’s use of the Pathways process, communities will come to understand substance abuse problems and effective solutions on a deeper level and service systems will become more effective. Newaygo County will be successful because of the coalition members’ enduring labor. Without the teamwork between the Coalition and the provider network, the Coalition would not be able to fulfill its mission toward the reduction of substance abuse across the county.

Newaygo County is a predominately rural county (89.9% rural) located in western Lower Michigan. Its 41,000 residents are scattered among five rural communities and outlying areas in the second largest geographical county in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula (843 square miles). Over half the county is comprised of National Forest, and with 234 lakes and 356 miles of streams, outdoor recreation is a primary attraction of the County.

The demographic and socio-economic profile of Newaygo County contributes to the nature and scope of the drug and alcohol problems faced by Newaygo County’s residents. Rural poverty is a stark reality for many of the County’s families with the County’s per capita income standing at $22,105 compared with the state per capita of $31,582. Median family income in Newaygo County is 38,409 compared to the state median of 45,022. 46.2 % of County children qualify for and receive free/reduced price lunches due to high numbers of families classified as “the working poor.” This is 9.1% higher that the state rate. Economic opportunity for families is severely limited in the County with the County’s unemployment figures consistently ranging 1 - 2% above Michigan’s statewide unemployment rate (sources: MI Employment Security Commission, Census Data, Newaygo County Intermediate School District, Juvenile Justice Master Plan, Family Independence Agency, MI Kids Count Data Book). Also, Newaygo County grew by 25.3% as recorded in the most recent census.

Extent of Substance Abuse by Youth: In 2005 The Coalition for a Safe & Drug-Free Newaygo County administered the PRIDE Survey, to 2,492 students in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 throughout the county. Despite the rural make-up of the area, youth living in Newaygo County reported levels of drug and alcohol usage which mirrors and, in many cases, exceeds the youth drug rates at national levels.

However, within this area of great natural beauty the issues of substance abuse are forever present and taking a toll on the success of communities. Youth self report: alcohol use during the past 30 days, 6th 8.1%, 8th 12.5%, 10th 30.3%, 12th 44.0%; cigarette use: 6th 2.4%, 8th 10.8%, 10th 23.6%, 12th 31.5%: any use alcohol: 6th 8.1%, 8th 31.1%, 10th 47.6%, 12th 60.8%. The survey revealed several risk factors that the coalition plans to address. The highest rates for risk factors are; Laws and norms favor drug use, Parent history, low commitment to school, rebelliousness, sensation seeking and depressive symptoms. During the 2006 fall school semester, the PNA Survey was once again administered. The coalition will consider the data from this survey as well as the PRIDE Survey (MSSAC).

The Coalition is approaching these issues with a unified voice to address the problem of substance abuse and misuse by members of our community. If successful, communities will come to understand substance abuse problems and effective solutions on a deeper level and service systems will become more effective. The Coalition will be successful because of several months of dedicated effort by the members and providers to follow a specific path of study, wherein together the data and available resources were assessed, gaps between needs and services were identified, steps were initiated to select a more effective and comprehensive array of services, and efforts were made to assure that work will be evaluated providing everyone with on-going, accurate direction. Without the teamwork between the Coalition members and the provider network, the Coalition would not be able to fulfill its mission toward the reduction of substance abuse across the county.

In October 2004, Coalition for a Safe & Drug Free Newaygo County entered into a dialogue with its providers, using the Pathways process to assess how they could enhance the system, and provide a more comprehensive array of effective prevention services within the communities each serves. This strategic substance abuse prevention plan is one outcome of this dialogue and represents a collaborative effort among the county staff and partners. Individual providers will be guided by this plan to engage in collaborative work that will maximize community involvement and interest in addressing this important but often neglected issue. The Coalition will work to assure that the county-wide coalition has the ability to address the six goals of this plan. These six goals focus on two salient areas: Systems Outcomes (Coalition Development and Data Driven Decision-Making) and Behavioral Outcomes (Alcohol, Tobacco, Methamphetamine and Special High Risk Populations).

The salient outcome of this work will be to strengthen a seamless system of prevention services for the county, anchored by a long-term strategic plan that will guide our providers as each:

Together, the coalition and the county will continue to move toward a community free of the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and its related consequences.

In order to address the unique needs of each community, the coalition must develop and implement a data driven, comprehensive plan that will empower each community in the region to identify its needs and respond to them in the most appropriate and effective manner. This plan needs to be driven by prevention research which indicates that population behavioral change happens only through a comprehensive approach utilizing multiple strategies. Strategies that must be employed to implement this plan effectively include:

Enhances the ability of community systems and/or members of the community to provide effective prevention.

Establishes or changes written or unwritten community standards, codes and attitudes, thereby influencing the incidence and prevalence of the abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs by the general population.

Increases knowledge and awareness of available prevention services, as well as the nature, effect and scope of substance abuse and addiction in order to prepare community readiness and support for prevention methods.

Offers formalized interaction between an instructor and participants that follow the fidelity core components of a selected curriculum.

Provides for participation by target populations in on-going activities that such populations would attend and/or participate in anyway, which now would exclude alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Aims to classify those who have indulged in illegal or age inappropriate use of tobacco or alcohol and those who have indulged in the first use of illicit drugs and to use validated and population appropriate tools to screen whether or not the individual would be best served through a community based or population based strategy or should be referred on for a full assessment in order to determine if treatment services are needed.

It will take several years to implement this data-driven system and support for substance abuse prevention planning and decision-making in our county. Therefore, 2005-2006 will be transition years as the providers mobilize the county coalition and initial data gaps are addressed in order to provide better measures for benchmarking and local planning. Providers along with the coalition will complete an implementation plan for 2005-2006, and will submit a four-year (2006-2009) strategic plan, which will be assessed and reviewed annually.

Public health research indicates that reducing community health problems, such as substance abuse and its consequences require efforts at multiple levels of understanding and influence (Mcleroy et al., 1988, Winett, 1995). MSSAC has sought to increase the effectiveness of its provider network by requiring their use of evidence-based prevention strategies and evaluation to assess their effectiveness. The Coalition for a Drug-Free Newaygo County has also come to recognize the need to increase awareness, involvement and support from communities in order to broaden prevention efforts and make them even more potent. Research and experience points to the importance of engaging key community agencies, officials and stakeholders who work to prevent, reduce or treat substance use and abuse problems and their consequences in a formalized, focused, ongoing partnership that coordinates planning for effective prevention and treatment strategies to reduce substance use problems in the community.

Preventive interventions are more likely to be successful when there is an alignment of intervention strategies that influence individuals' demand for substances and with environmental strategies that impact the availability of substances and the community attitudinal and behavioral norms that influence use, misuse and abuse of substances by youth and adults (Dishion and Kavanagh, 2000). Only through such collaborative approaches will communities have the capacity necessary to develop and implement a long-term strategy and focus community resources to reduce risks and increase protective factors that have been demonstrated to influence youth use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs and reduce the consequences, including crime, disease and death due to misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs by youth and adults.

Currently, this coalition’s capacity is being expanded across the county. The coalition has been developed to support programs and initiatives within the boundaries of the county. The coalition has the breadth of community sector representation to assure the active support needed to develop and carry out strategic prevention plans that will address not only the demand for substances among youth, but the availability of substances, as well as the environments and norms that promote their use, misuse, and abuse by youth and adult populations. Some populations have been under represented and the coalition, through expansion, will focus more attention on these populations.

Although progress has been made in the coordination of substance abuse services and programs in Newaygo County, there is a need to continue in the development of an action model for delivering prevention services to Truant and first time youth offender populations. There is a continuing need to further build capacity to take a systematic approach to identify the needs of these populations in the area of substance abuse prevention; to further develop the comprehensive community prevention plan, and to implement the plan utilizing multiple strategies over multiple community sectors.

Schools throughout Newaygo County are actively devoted to in-school prevention activities. Communities and schools need to continue to work together in prevention efforts to build and maintain efforts to increase protective factors, build assets and reduce risk factors in youth, or our communities will continue to see increases in early initiation of use of alcohol among our youth.

Pastoral or faith-based participation has been inconsistent. Meetings to encourage involvement will continue.

formalized documents that include coalition by-laws and conflict resolution policies,
formalized meeting summary notes and agendas,
on-going updating of the needs and resource assessments of programs/projects,
an updated county-wide strategic plan with measurable goals and objectives,
reduced duplication of services,
use of evaluation data by the coalition to seek future funding opportunities
agency, community, schools, and law enforcement buy-in and participation in the coalition meetings

P 1.1 continue the establishment of a formalized coalition structure of multi-sector participants that will form from a diverse group of individuals that may include representatives from public health, mental health, schools and NCRESA representatives, Department of Human Services, Criminal Justice System (courts and law enforcement), youth groups, substance abuse treatment providers, leaders, substance abuse prevention providers, senior citizens groups, private health care (hospitals/physicians), business/civic, parent groups, faith-based groups, and any other organization interested in substance abuse prevention and treatment.

P.1.2 Guide the coalition through the development and implementation of a data driven 3-year strategic substance abuse prevention plan.

P.1.3 Collecting, discussing, and understanding outcome evaluation data for all services provided in Newaygo

P.1.4 Develop a systems approach to address substance abuse problems in Newaygo County, creating formal and

informal linkage agreements among agencies to co-fund infrastructure and eliminate duplicative or ineffective

programs, conduct needs assessments, evaluate strategies, and advocate for needed policy changes to support

P.1.5 Expand community awareness of the issue of substance abuse through local newspapers or other community

By 2007-2009 , Coalition for a Safe & Drug-Free Newaygo County will have collected and be utilizing local youth surveys (PRIDE and Protective Needs Assessment) and archival data to assess substance abuse prevention needs, identify gaps in prevention services, focus efforts on prioritized needs, mobile resources across the county and evaluate changes in targeted risk and protective factors and substance abuse using behaviors as measured by:

a. an on-going, updated needs assessment that relies on local, regional and state data

c. a strategic plan for the county that contains measurable goals and objectives.

By 2009, Coalition for a Safe & Drug-Free Newaygo County will demonstrate sustained multi-sectoral coordination of planning and

evaluation of substance abuse prevention efforts across the county as measured by:

a. reduced duplication of services and increased comprehensiveness of prevention strategies to address prioritized needs.

c. meeting summary notes indicating all efforts are evaluated, and evaluation results are shared, discussed and used by the

In 2002, the state of Michigan conducted a survey of risk and protective factors, collecting a representative sample for participating schools in 7 of the 10 counties that now comprise the region and one county that is no longer in the region. In 2003, the region was realigned adding lonia and Newaygo to MSSAC, and Shiawasee was removed. Not only does this data no longer reflect the make-up of the Mid South region, but the sample size also prevented reporting of a number of indicators. This survey does not allow for assessment of drug use and risk and protective factors at the regional, county and community levels. This data is imperative for accurately identifying and targeting local prevention problems, as well as for benchmarking effectiveness of county and regional prevention strategies.

Newaygo County needs the capacity and internal mechanisms to support comprehensive data collection and utilization processes to support data driven assessment of incidence and prevalence, risk and protective factors, decision making planning and service delivery. County coalitions need the capacity to collect and utilize data to assess local substance use, incidence and prevalence, risk and protective factors, co-occurring behaviors and consequences of substance abuse and misuse.

Newaygo County has identified the following examples for the need of this data collection capacity:

By 2009, Newaygo County will have a comprehensive data collection process that relies on local, reliable survey measures and archival indicators measuring youth risk and protective factors, substance abuse behaviors among youth and other prioritized and underserved populations (e.g. truants, elderly, adults in the workplace, children of substance abusers) as identified by the coalition, and an assessment of the level and reach of substance abuse prevention services in the county.

By 2009, Coalition for a Safe & Drug-Free Newaygo County will have coordinated planning and evaluation decisions based on reliable local needs and resource assessment data, filling gaps and avoiding duplication of services, as measured by:

P.2.1 use the most recent county-wide data to adjust providers' implementation plans so that the selected strategies are the most culturally appropriate.

P.2.2 assist with the administration of the youth survey to assess substance use and risk and protective factors.

P.2.3 assist the county coalition to collect archival data and conduct a thorough county-wide assessment of

P.2.4 build capacity of local coalitions to find, interpret and use the Pathways process to ensure that prevention

services match the needs of the community, including priority and special populations.

By 2008, Newagyo County will have a thorough assessment of resources by county coalitions to identify all funds that support substance abuse prevention efforts, their use and reach in each county, as measured by completion and submission of the resource assessment instrument by each county coalition.

By 2008, MSSAC and the Newaygo coalition will have collected valid and reliable archival indicators of environmental conditions which influence the demand for and supply of substances, the availability of substances, enforcement of policies to regulate substance sales, use and access, and the consequences of substance use/abuse among youth, young adults, adults and special populations as measured by the completion and submission of regional and county (and lower levels where appropriate) data reports by county coalitions.

P.2.5 work with the county coalition to develop advocacy skills to address the collection of missing

P.2.6 analyze, match data, report and distribute at the county level findings establishing a longitude data set.

P.2.7 guide the established coalition members and community members to understand and appreciate that the

data collected does not represent the success or failure of the agency, but instead represents guideposts on

By 2008, MSSAC and providers of prevention services in the county will collect valid, reliable youth survey data that assesses the incidence and prevalence of substance use behaviors (especially alcohol, tobacco, and methamphetamines and any other targeted substances) and risk and protective factors which have been demonstrated to influence substance use behaviors from a representative group of youth in each county and the region overall, as well as archival indicators as measured by:

By 2008 MSSAC and each of its constituent counties will have an established collection of valid and reliable substance use/abuse behaviors and factors that influence use/abuse among adults and special populations by county coalitions as measured by:

Youth and adults are at increased risk of substance misuse, abuse and addictions

due to the cumulative number of risks they experience and the lack of protective factors to buffer these risks.

Newaygo County does not have a college campus within its borders. The City of Fremont does have a satellite site where college classes are offered. Newaygo County with the national forest and an abundance of lakes and streams is a popular tourist area. Many youth are attracted to the area and like to “party” in the forest or while enjoying a day along the many lakes and streams. To discourage underage use and adult abuse of alcohol by visiting tourists, State, County, and Local law enforcement agencies join forces to conduct “River Bank Stings”, the latest was conducted during the summer “2006”. The results were; 10 total lodgings, 58 misdemeanor citations, and 21 civil infractions. A total of 38 alcohol related arrests were made with 15 of these, minor in possession arrests. According to the 2004 Michigan State Police Uniform Crime Report, the number of youth using alcohol is very high. The number of liquor violations reported is as follows: (ages 16-17) 78, (ages 18-20) 118. The number of D.U.I. violations; (ages 16-17) 17, (ages 18 – 20) 56. There were 90, 18-20 year-old youth processed through the Newaygo County court system for the 2006 calendar year. The coalition plan to use a multi-prong approach to lower the number of youth using. These include; law enforcement, education, and community.

Youth (ages 11-17): Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among adolescents as identified in the 2005 PRIDE National Survey and the 2004 Prevention Needs Assessment Survey. Data from the two county-wide surveys and National (PRIDE) indicate that over 30% of 10th & 41% of 12th grade students used alcohol in the past 30 days which is above the national average. Perception of parental disapproval and peer disapproval was below the national average, PRIDE PNA

(Note: the PNA survey was not completed by youth attending Christian schools in Newaygo County while the PRIDE survey included both public and private schools. Blank areas indicate no data available).

As indicated in the National Outcome Measures, youth in Newaygo County report rates of alcohol use either higher than or mirroring the national average.

Research indicates; “Community strategies that focus on changing the local environment to decrease heavy drinking and reduce alcohol problems, among all age groups or specifically among young people, have the potential to effect structural changes in the community drinking environment that could have an especially broad and long-lasting impact on drinking behavior”. “Research indicates that the prevention strategies most effective with minors and young adults are policy strategies that influence the price, availability, drinking context or perceived risks of heavy drinking” (Holder, NIAAA 2004-2005). Holder also states that “To be effective, community prevention interventions require a mix of evidence-based program components and policy strategies.

Goal #: 3 By 2009, there will be reductions in alcohol use by youth (10-16) and college-age youth (17-20), and reduction of misuse and abuse of alcohol by adults in Newaygo County.

By 2009, there will be a reduction in lifetime and past-month alcohol use as measured by student responses to lifetime and past-month usage questions on a valid, reliable school-based youth survey implemented in counties in the region.

By 2009, there will be a reduction of alcohol use rates among college-age youth as measured by County Court Alcohol Misuse/Possession records covering the 17-20 age group.

P.3.2 build the capacity of community coalitions to support, collaborate, and advocate for stronger measures to control

P.3.3 build the capacity of the coalition to support, collaborate and advocate for measures of other risk and protective factors that influence youth alcohol rates.

P.3.4 assess the strength of current youth programming offered by providers through outcome evaluation plans for each program and present to the county coalition and MSSAC.

P.3.7 Implement appropriate programs and processes for college age youth and adults to reduce alcohol use and

P.3.8 Assure that program providers have the capacity to implement evidence- based alcohol prevention programs

that reduce risk levels and increase protective levels that influence youth alcohol rates.

P.3.9 Assure program providers have the resources to assess among selected and indicated youth populations

attending substance abuse prevention programs and those who may need early intervention or treatment

P.3.10 Assist coalition members to leverage funding to support evidence-based alcohol prevention programs and

P.3.11 Assist coalition members to leverage funding to support treatment programs for youth in Newaygo County.

By 2007-08, MSSAC will fund evidence-based interventions that match identified needs related to alcohol and community readiness to address alcohol issues and support the development of formal and informal linkages between MSSAC providers, the county coalition, and agencies in the community, including local law enforcement and the Liquor Control Commission that fund efforts to reduce sales of alcohol to underage youth as measured by:

By 2007-08, the coalition, where appropriate, will integrate objectives in strategic substance abuse prevention plans to address alcohol prevention needs of college-age youth as measured by the county strategic substance abuse prevention plan.

By 2007-2008 Sales of alcohol to minors will be reduced as measured by compliance check data.

There will be a decrease in other risk factors and an increase in protective factors that influence youth alcohol use as measured by the youth risk & protective factor survey and the PRIDE survey.

By 2007, there will be a focused effort across the region to reduce alcohol use rates among college age youth as measured by:

Base-line court records, program attendance and an analysis of gaps in services that address alcohol use by college age youth.

PROBLEM

The Prevention Needs Assessment Survey 2004 indicates that 34% of 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th grade youth surveyed in Newaygo County reported having used tobacco in their lifetime, and 15.5% report having used tobacco in the past month. As adolescents mature, the prevalence of tobacco use increases. 13.2% of 8th graders across the county report having used tobacco in the past month – a nationally accepted indicator of regular tobacco use. 42.6% of 10th grade survey respondents reported having used tobacco in their life, while 20.2% of 10th grade respondents reported past month use. Over 28% of seniors reported past month tobacco use. While about 36% of youth surveyed believe that people who smoke one or more packs of cigarettes per day risk harming themselves (physically or otherwise) greatly, 64% of youth surveyed believed there is moderate to no risk to people who smoke one or more packs of cigarettes per day. Over 29% of students surveyed in the county believed that it is “a little bit wrong” or “not wrong at all” to smoke cigarettes. Over 37% of students surveyed reported that their parents would feel it would be “a little bit wrong” or “not wrong at all” for them to smoke cigarettes. About 34% of youth reported that one or more of their best or close friends smoked cigarettes in the past year. Almost 41% of youth surveyed in Newaygo County in 2004 reported that it would be “sort of easy” or “very easy” to get cigarettes. About 47% of County students believed it was unlikely that an adolescent in their neighborhood would get caught if they smoked cigarettes.

There is no information collected on adult use of tobacco. Compliance checks on a sample of tobacco sales outlets yield compliance within the state average. Public school campuses have tobacco free policies that are enforced by school officials and local police officers during the school day. Only private school campuses are tobacco-free at all times.

By 2009, there will be a reduction of cigarette smoking and chewing tobacco use rates and an increase in age of initiation of smoking and chewing tobacco among youth as measured by student responses to lifetime and past month usage questions through a valid, reliable school-based youth survey implemented in the county and reported by the MSSAC-funded coalition.

P.4.1 make connections with DHD#10 and other tobacco advocates (ACS and Lakeshore Lung) serving Newaygo Co., establishing informal and formal relationships to address youth tobacco use issues.

P.4.2 build the capacity of community coalitions to support, collaborate, and advocate for stronger measures to control

P.4.3 build the capacity of the coalition to support, collaborate and advocate for measures of other risk and protective factors that influence youth tobacco rates.

P.4.4 assess the strength of current youth programming offered by providers through outcome evaluation plans for each program and present to the county coalition and MSSAC.

P.4.5 guide the development of the established county coalition to address tobacco within the draft three-year strategic plan for submission to MSSAC.

P.4.6 assure the program providers have the capacity to implement evidence- based tobacco prevention programs that reduce risk levels and increase protective levels that influence youth tobacco rates.

P.4.7. assist coalition members to leverage funding to support evidence-based tobacco prevention programs and processes.

P.4.8 have 60% of the schools in Newaygo Co. participating in the youth survey funded through MSSAC.

By 2007, sales of tobacco products to minors will be reduced as measured by compliance check data.

By 2008, there will be a focused effort throughout the county to reduce tobacco use rates as measured by:

By 2008, there will be a decrease in other risk factors and an increase in protective factors that influence youth tobacco use as measured by the youth survey supported by MSSAC.

Methamphetamine production and use has become an increasing problem in the state of Michigan. Law enforcement data aggregated for the region indicates over a 100% increase in lab seizures between 2000 (15) and 2003 (33). Jackson County showed the greatest annual increase between 2002 and 2003, tripling the number of seizures from 5 to 15. While this increase may reflect a more focused effort on enforcement, it appears that the region is becoming a growing center for methamphetamine production in southern Michigan, and moving northward as one lab seizure occurred in Newaygo County between Jan 1 – June 11, 2003. Reflecting a trend of increasing impacts of methamphetamine use, treatment admissions across the region for methamphetamine use increased substantially between 2001 and 2002 from 53 to 173. Newaygo County reported an increase in treatment of 1 in 1998 to 9 in 2001, and then dropped to 3 in 2002.

By 2009, availability of methamphetamines in Newaygo County as measured by social indicator proxy measures (e.g. arrest for methamphetamine production, methamphetamine lab seizures and methamphetamine hospital administrations) will be reduced.

P.5.1 make connections with the local health department, first responders and law enforcement serving Newaygo County, establishing informal and formal relationships to address methamphetamine issues.

P.5.2 build the capacity of established coalition to support, collaborate and advocate for stronger measures of preventing access and availability to reduce adult methamphetamine rates.

P.5.3 assist established coalition members to leverage funding to support evidence based methamphetamine prevention interventions.

P.5.4 support the implementation of the established coalition’s strategic plan that addresses access and availability of methamphetamine.

P.5.5 assure that established coalition will support law enforcement’s efforts to identify and seize methamphetamine labs.

By 2008, there will be a focused effort across the county to increase the number and accuracy of reports regarding methamphetamine labs by responders, as well as increased community awareness of the growing issue and planned responses as measured by:

There is a high rate of truancy among students in Newaygo County as reported by the Newaygo county Sheriff’s Dept. School Liaison Officer. During the 2005-2006 school year 57 truancies were reported throughout the five school districts in Newaygo County as compared to 68 during the 2006-2007 school year. Also, during the 2006-2007 school year, parents of 23 truant youth were processed through the prosecutor’s office to face charges for not having their children in school.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, October 1996, Truancy is a first step to a lifetime of problems. “Today, truancy has become a major problem in this country that negatively influences the future of our youth and costs taxpayers thousands of dollars.” “Truancy is a stepping stone to delinquent and criminal activity.” “Truant students are at higher risk of being drawn into behavior involving drugs, alcohol and violence. A California deputy assistant attorney who handles truancy cases says he has “never seen a gang member who wasn’t a truant first.” The article goes on to say that several studies have documented the correlation between drug use and truancy.

By 2009, the Coalition for a Safe & Drug-Free Newaygo County will utilize localized data to assess the needs of specific populations at highest risk for substance use, misuse and abuse, address prioritized needs through the implementation of evidence-based interventions (programs, policies, and practices) appropriate for the population, and evaluate the outcomes of the interventions, changes in related factors that influence the targeted substance-using behaviors, and changes in targeted substance-using behaviors by the target population.

By 2009, the Coalition for a Safe & Drug-Free Newaygo County will continue to assess the needs of populations with enhanced risk for substance use, misuse and abuse, target these populations as data supports needs, provide evidence-based, culturally appropriate interventions (policies, programs and practices), and evaluate their effectiveness as measured by:

P.6.1 Collect data (when available) to identify needs of the over-60 and any other special population including youth who are truant, first-time-possession offenders, Latinos, and working adults.

P.6.2 Conduct a thorough countywide assessment of substance abuse prevention resources targeting the special population groups.

P.6.3 Work with established county coalitions to use the Pathways process to ensure that prevention services match the needs of the community, including priority and special populations.

P.6.4 Assist established county coalitions to work with health care professionals, court system, aging specialists, first responders and social workers to develop a process to assess and target for

P.6.5 Build an internal mechanism for identifying and validating indicators of substance abuse prevention needs of special population to direct resource allocation decisions.