SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Local partnerships help us engage change
At Clinton Substance Awareness & Prevention Coalition, we place a very strong value in our community and local school partnerships. Through these collaborations and partnerships, we are able to successfully provide community substance use prevention education programs and ensure the health and wellness of the youth and families in our county.
School partnerships
At Clinton Substance Awareness & Prevention Coalition, we are proud to have partnerships with each of our local schools; St. Johns, Dewitt, Fowler, Pewamo-Westphalia, Bath, and Ovid-Elsie. Clinton County public schools play a significant role in addressing student substance abuse. Research shows that youth who receive universal, school-based substance abuse prevention programming are less likely to drink, vape, and use other drugs.
Through our school partnerships—from middle-school through high school—we are able to deliver age-specific, developmentally appropriate, and culturally responsive substance abuse prevention programming. In addition, we work with each district's teachers and administrators to show them how they can foster positive school climates, enforce substance abuse prevention policies, and communicate consistent norms that youth substance abuse is unacceptable.
Retailer and Community Partnerships
At Clinton Substance Awareness & Prevention Coalition, we recognize retail and community partners play a role in addressing substance abuse prevention. We specifically partner with local community members and retailers to pass compliance checks and the opportunity to publicly recognize positive youth development opportunities through awards, community discounts, and other positive motivating factors. Through these same partnerships, we are also able to ensure community signage is posted in "hot spots" stating the dangers or the illegal nature for minors to consume or purchase substances or alcoholic beverages.
Michigan Model for Health™
We are excited to deliver Michigan's Model for Health™ (MMH) to both our school and community partners. MMH is a comprehensive health education curriculum that targets Pre-K through 12th grade students utilizing a skills-based approach. The MMH curriculum teaches students the knowledge and skills they need to build and maintain healthy behaviors and lifestyles. Age-appropriate and sequential lessons focus on the most serious health challenges school-aged children face, including and not limited to substance use prevention.
Project Alert.com
At CSAPC, we have partnered with Project ALERT, a program that provides community and school curriculum created and tested by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization on substance use prevention. Developed over a ten-year period, Project ALERT addresses the pro-drug mindset of today’s teens and effectively increases their likelihood to remain drug-free.
With a primary focus on grades 7-8 and then into high school, Project Alert includes easy-to-follow lessons. Delivered by our CSAPC team, each lesson includes implementation hints, reference materials and handouts that provided directly to students and community action members. The program also includes assessment tools to ensure we are making a local difference to our youth and also graduation certificates for students that go above and beyond and graduate from their specific Project Alert lessons and programs. Our goal is to ensure each of our local teens become teen leaders in their community and help promote a drug free life and lessons for others.