Tom – Page 3 – Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development

Professor and Blueprints Advisory Board member Larry Hedges of Northwestern University co-authored a working paper that addresses challenges to research, particularly randomized control trials, posed by Covid-19

Blueprints Advisory Board member Dr. Larry Hedges of Northwestern University, and his colleague Dr. Beth Tipton (also of Northwestern) have published a working paper titled “Addressing the Challenges to Educational Research Posed by Covid-19.” In this paper, Hedges and Tipton discuss how the Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our society, including the conduct of ongoing research, especially randomized field trials. This paper seeks to identify some of the problems that may arise because of this disruption, which may be different depending on the current stage of the trial. Hedges and Tipton identify some possible responses to the disruption with an emphasis on those that may permit investigators to capitalize on work already done and investments already made. Read the full working paper here: https://www.ipr.northwestern.edu/our-work/working-papers/2020/wp-20-47.html

Professor and Blueprints Advisory Board Member Velma McBride Murry of Vanderbilt University elected into the National Academy of Medicine

Blueprints Advisory Board member Dr. Velma McBride Murry, Lois Autrey Betts Endowed Chair and university professor, departments of health policy and human and organizational development, Vanderbilt University, is one of 100 new members recently elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). The NAM (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 as the health arm of the National Academies. With just more than 2,000 members, NAM provides independent and trusted scientific advice nationally and globally. Dr. Murry is recognized for her work developing, evaluating, and implementing novel, strength-based, family preventive intervention programs, including the first technology family-based prevention designed to foster positive development and adjustment among youth. Her research addresses critical issues that confront underserved rural populations and emphasizes ways to harness the strengths and cultural assets that marginalized families and communities use to navigate challenging situations. Read more about the NAM and this announcement here: https://nam.edu/national-academy-of-medicine-elects-100-new-members-2020/

Interview with Professor and Blueprints Advisory Board member Larry Hedges, Yidan Prize for Education Research Laureate 2018

It is difficult for policymakers to interpret and apply large numbers of studies, many of which appear to have contradictory conclusions. Blueprints Advisory Board member Larry Hedges was awarded the Yidan Prize (the world’s largest education prize) in 2018 for his statistical methods for meta-analysis that provide tools to sort through studies and understand program impacts with greater confidence. Listen to a 10-minute interview with Professor Hedges to learn about the methods he has developed for taking a more systematic approach in learning what works:

https://yidanprize.org/interview-with-professor-larry-hedges-yidan-prize-for-education-research-laureate-2018/

Issue No. 14

Welcome to the Blueprints Bulletin

Leadership Letter:

This newsletter features results from an online survey conducted in collaboration with our friends at Evidence-Based Associates on Model/Model Plus and Promising Programs’ COVID-19 response.

Results show a wide range of modifications to service delivery and implementation strategies.

In May and June 2020, Blueprints self-funded a survey conducted with contacts listed for the 17 Model/Model Plus and 77 Promising Programs on how evidence-based interventions have responded to, and begun to plan for, the aftermath of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey contained eight questions and 58 of the 94 programs surveyed responded (for a 62 percent response rate). The full survey and aggregated responses can be downloaded by clicking here. Highlights are shared below.

Status of the dissemination/implementation

The data show the majority of programs that completed our survey have received requests for changes to the delivery modality and training/support of their intervention, and just under half have experienced new requests for the adoption of their intervention model. None, however, discontinued implementation in the wake of COVID-19 but some reported they suspended their program.

Modifications to service delivery

We conducted our survey as many states were experiencing varying levels of stay-at-home orders, schools had been abruptly closed, and most business and childcare facilities were either shut down or beginning to phase in opening plans. As a result, programs were quickly faced with important decisions to ensure the safe continuity of programming while following public health guidelines. Just under one-quarter had not modified the intervention or its delivery due to COVID at the time of our survey. The majority, however, provided online resources, turned to tele-sessions and/or video conferencing, and/or offered online training or lessons to support service delivery. A small percentage started a blog as a forum for conversation.

Communication of modifications

Just over half communicated changes to their delivery or services via e-blasts to subscribers. In addition, roughly one-third posted messages on social media and/or their website. A smaller percentage (less than 20 percent) turned to blogging.

Impact of modified service delivery on intervention outcomes

More than one-third of survey respondents are either collecting data or plan to collect data soon on the relationship between modifications made due to COVID and intervention outcomes. However, just over one-quarter report they do not have the resources to collect these data.

What do programs want to know?

We included an open-ended item asking what questions survey participants have of Blueprints or of other Blueprints-certified interventions. Below are some highlights summarizing responses:

Programs want to know what instruments others are using to document changes to their delivery model or implementation due to COVID.
How have others handled shifting or confusing billing issues and agency requirements for telemedicine and/or returning to clinics?
What opportunities exist to better understand and learn from COVID-19 regarding implementation and sustainability?
How best can programs engage political and community leaders to understand the importance of implementing evidence-based interventions?
Have other programs suspended evaluating their Blueprints program? If so, when are they planning on resuming data collection and how do they plan to continue to collect data?
What are some effective strategies programs have figured out in adapting to video meetings for maintaining engagement with children, individuals and/or families (depending on the population targeted for the intervention)?

On March 11, 2020, the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. COVID-19 has dramatically changed lives everywhere and touched all aspects of life, from health care and mental health services to education, the environment, and the economy. In this environment of rapidly changing information about the virus, Blueprints seeks to assist evidence-based interventions in sharing our survey data so that we can work together in supporting families and communities through the complexities of this crisis. As we figure out next steps regarding this effort, we encourage others to network and swap ideas. We hope the resources provided by survey respondents and shared in the next section of this newsletter offer helpful tips and ideas.

Wishing you safety and health.

Sincerely,

Pamela Buckley, PhD
Director and Co-Principal Investigator
Blueprints Initiative
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado Boulder
Pamela.Buckley@Colorado.edu

Karl G. Hill, PhD
Principal Investigator
Blueprints Initiative
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado Boulder
Karl.Hill@Colorado.edu

Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development is hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder, Institute of Behavioral Science, with current funding from Arnold Ventures and former funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Each intervention included in the Blueprints database has been reviewed carefully by an independent advisory panel that looked at research on the intervention’s impact, practical focus and potential for implementation in public systems.

Blueprints News & Resources
COVID-19 Response Resources

In lieu of featuring one Model/Model Plus and one Promising program as we have historically done in each newsletter, below are links to resources provided from survey responses that support evidence-based interventions in offering services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Model/Model Plus Programs

Botvin LifeSkills Training (a classroom-based program designed to prevent teenage drug and alcohol abuse, tobacco use, violence and other risk behaviors by teaching students self-management skills, social skills, and drug awareness and resistance skills). For COVID-related resources, go to LST COVID-19 Update.

Early College High School Model (a high school model designed to increase students’ access to a postsecondary credential, particularly for underrepresented students). The following guidance applies to all dual enrollment opportunities in North Carolina, which includes early colleges: Early College COVID-19 Guidance.

Multisystemic Therapy® (a juvenile crime prevention program designed to improve the real-world functioning of youth by changing their natural settings – home, school, and neighborhood – in ways that promote prosocial behavior while decreasing antisocial behavior). For COVID-related resources, go to: MST COVID-19 Statement.

Nurse-Family Partnership (a nurse home visiting program for first-time pregnant mothers designed to improve prenatal and child rearing practices through the child’s second birthday). The links below provide COVID-related resources:

Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (a classroom-based social emotional learning program for elementary school students to reduce aggression and behavior problems). For COVID-related resources, go to: PATHS Blog COVID-19.

Promising Programs

Child First (a two-generation home visitation program that provides psycho-therapeutic services and intensive care coordination, while building adult reflective and executive capacity, to prevent or diminish serious emotional, developmental and learning disabilities, and abuse and neglect among young children). The links below provide COVID-related resources:

Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (a multi-session group intervention that aims to reduce children’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, as well as anxiety and depression resulting from exposure to violence, through child, parent, and teacher educational sessions). For COVID-related resources, go to: CBITS COVID-19 Resources.

Communities that Care (a prevention system designed to reduce levels of adolescent delinquency and substance use through the selection and use of effective preventative interventions tailored to a community’s specific profile of risk and protection). For COVID-related resources, go to: CTC Disparities and Prevention during Pandemic.

Incredible Years®

Parent (a group-based program that strengthens parent competencies to promote young children’s social, emotional, and academic competence and prevent the development of conduct problems):
Teacher Classroom Management (a program that provides teachers of children ages 3-8 years with classroom management strategies to manage difficult behavior while promoting social, emotional, and academic competence):
Child Treatment (a child treatment program used by counselors and therapists to treat children ages 3-8 years with conduct problems, ADHD, and internalizing problems).

For COVID-related resources, go to: Incredible Years Resources for Group Leaders

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (a program designed for children and their parents that focuses on decreasing child behavior problems, increasing positive parent behaviors, and improving the quality of the parent-child relationship). For COVID-related resources, go to: PCIT COVID-19 Therapist and Trainer Resources.

Promoting First Relationships (a training program for promoting secure and healthy relationships between caregivers and young children birth to three years of age). The links below provide COVID-related telehealth resources:

SPORT Prevention Plus Wellness (a health promotion program that highlights the positive image benefits of an active lifestyle to reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco and drug use by high school students). For COVID-related resources, go to: Prevention Plus Wellness Remote Implementation.

Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 (a group program that aims to promote good parenting skills and positive family relationships; reduce aggressive, hostile behavior, and substance abuse in adolescence; and improve family relationships). For COVID-related resources, go to: Strengthening Families COVID-19 Resources.

Tools of the Mind (an early childhood program designed to promote academic learning and prosocial behaviors by supporting the development of executive function and other regulation-related skills). The links below provide COVID-related resources:

Blueprints Interventions in the News
In case you’ve missed them, here are a few newspaper articles and web postings that feature some of our Blueprint’s Model and Promising Programs:

The New York Times recently published an article discussing Year Up (a Blueprints Promising Program) and the organization’s transition to virtual training. In addition to providing support, Year Up trains young adults in both technical and soft skills. The article discusses how trying to translate life-changing experiences to computer screens and video classes is the lockdown-induced experiment now being conducted by Year Up and other programs designed for disadvantaged Americans. The future of these programs is in doubt at a time when they would seem to be needed more than ever. The forced march online has triggered a drastic rethinking across the education-to-employment field and will most likely bring lasting change — and perhaps open the door to significant expansion. But Year Up and others say they have found that much more of their training can be done effectively online than they expected. Read more here.
The Salt Lake Tribune ran a series of news stories examining how teens in Kearns, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City) are coping with stress. This article mentions Blueprints and highlights The Blues Program (a Blueprints Model program), which has been shown to reduce depression and illicit drug use. One student interviewed shared how the program has specifically helped her manage COVID-19 pandemic-related stress and anxiety. The Kearns Evidence2Success Coalition and Salt Lake County Youth Services made it possible for 16 Granite District social workers and counselors to be trained on ME Time (also known as The Blues Program) to support a growing number of teens who report feeling sad or hopeless. Learn more about these community-wide efforts here.
The East Central Iowa chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has joined the call for justice and equity amid national protests following the death of George Floyd. According to Big Brothers Big Sisters, more than 50% of the youth served in Cedar Rapids (city in Iowa) and East Central Iowa are black and brown children. Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a Blueprints Promising program that matches a volunteer adult mentor to an at-risk child or adolescent to delay or reduce antisocial behaviors, improve academic success, and provide social and cultural enrichment. Linda Henecke, President and CEO of the East Central Iowa chapter, issued a statement in support of Black communities. Read the full statement here.
Two Pennsylvania area chapters of Communities That Care (Cheltenham and Norristown Area) are partnering with the Montgomery County Office of Drug and Alcohol and Family Services of Montgomery County to share the “Talk. They Hear You” campaign with their communities. Communities That Care (a Blueprints Promising program) is a prevention system designed to reduce levels of adolescent delinquency and substance use through the selection and use of effective preventative interventions. “Talk. They Hear You” is a national media campaign and resource toolkit created by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that emphasizes the importance of parents talking to their kids about alcohol and drug use. The campaign offers advice to parents about preparing their children to deal with peer pressure that may lead to alcohol and drug use. Go here to learn more about the campaign.
The Sentinel Newspaper in Carlisle, Pennsylvania features two Blueprints-certified family programs: Strengthening Families and Family Check-up. Strengthening Families is a Blueprints Promising program that aims to promote good parenting skills and positive family relationships, and reduce aggressive behavior and substance use in adolescence. Family Check-Up is a Blueprints Promising program that aims to prevent conduct problems among at-risk toddlers by improving the quality of parenting and increasing and maintaining parents’ use of positive behavior support. Both programs are being provided free of charge using telehealth and online platforms through a grant to families in Cumberland, Perry, and Upper Adams counties. Go here to learn more.
After studies showed that Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) (a Blueprints Model program) positively impacted behavioral and academic outcomes, educators and school board members in Frederick, Maryland are looking to expand the social-emotional learning program and implement it in all pre-k through second grade classrooms this school year. PATHS is a classroom-based enrichment program designed to reduce aggression and behavior problems. Go here to learn more about PATHS implementation in Frederick, MD.

Our mailing address is:
University of Colorado Boulder | Institute of Behavioral Science
483 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309

Implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic of interventions rated by Blueprints as Model/Model Plus and Promising

In May and June 2020, Blueprints self-funded a survey conducted with contacts listed for the 17 Model/Model Plus and 77 Promising Programs on how evidence-based interventions have responded to, and begun to plan for, the aftermath of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey contained eight questions and 58 of the 94 programs surveyed responded (for a 62 percent response rate). The full survey and survey responses can be downloaded by going here: Blueprints-Covid-survey-responses_DirectorLtr14

Dr. Karl Hill Webinar: Why use Evidence and Where to Find it: Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development

Description: Dr. Karl Hill led a webinar “Why Use Evidence and Where to Find It: Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development,” in which he discusses the importance of employing evidence and prevention science in substance misuse prevention work. Watch the presentation here.

Presenter: Dr. Hill is the director of the Program on Problem Behavior and Positive Youth Development and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder. The Program includes Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development, the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence and the Center for Resilience and Well-being in Schools. Dr. Hill’s work over the last 30 years has focused on understanding two questions: What are optimal family, peer, school and community environments that encourage healthy youth and adult development? And: How do we work with communities to make this happen?

Issue No. 13

Welcome to the Blueprints Bulletin

Leadership Letter:

We hope this letter finds you in a place of safety and health in adjusting to the new normal with quarantined days. These certainly are challenging times as our community, our nation and our world face economic uncertainty and major disruptions in our daily life, including caring for our loved ones while coping with closures to school and childcare facilities and demands or providing for educational and childcare needs. Our thoughts are with those of you who may be unwell, anxious, or grieving during this time.

What a frightening, head-spinning month we have had. Just recently, we were finalizing plans for the 2020 Blueprints Conference, scheduled for April 27-29. Then on March 11^th, we made the decision to cancel the Blueprints conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, life as we once knew it has radically changed. We are heartened, however, by the positive responses we received regarding the conference’s important and longstanding contribution to the field. Thank you. Our team created this PDF to assist our conference registrants in completing the necessary steps to receive refunds related to the 2020 Blueprints Conference.

As we all adapt to this new environment, Blueprints will continue to work on our mission of promoting effective preventive interventions and helping governmental agencies, foundations, and practitioners use strong evidence to make informed decisions when identifying programs and practices that provide a high probability of success when taken to scale in communities. It is this commitment that helps us persevere through the challenges brought about by COVID-19. We thank each one of you for your part in our community and for your involvement in this important effort.

We recognize that Blueprints has followers from all around the world. Wherever you are right now, we wish you well over the next weeks and months to come.

Sincerely,

Pamela Buckley, PhD
Director and Co-Principal Investigator
Blueprints Initiative
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado Boulder
Pamela.Buckley@Colorado.edu

Karl G. Hill, PhD
Principal Investigator
Blueprints Initiative
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado Boulder
Karl.Hill@Colorado.edu

Blueprints News & Resources
Relevant articles and helpful resources

Blueprints Advisory Board member and parenting scholar Dr. Frances Gardner, Professor of Child and Family Psychology in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention at the University of Oxford, has collaborated with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, the Internet of Good Things, USAID and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a website with open-access online parenting resources during COVID-19. Go here to learn more.

Blueprints supports the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) in its efforts to encourage participation in the conversation about effective prevention strategies promoting protective factors around stress and anxiety, trauma, parental stress, and more especially during these difficult and uncertain times. SPR has asked that you connect with them online @SPROrg to share your knowledge, initiatives, and resources through your social media accounts using the hashtag #WeAreSPR.

MDRC is a nonprofit organization that designs promising new interventions, evaluates existing programs using the highest research standards, and provides technical assistance to build better programs and deliver effective interventions at scale. Blueprints responded to MDRC’s new project, “Reconnecting Youth: Putting Out-of-School, Out-of-Work Youth on a Path to Self-Sufficiency,” by recommending two Blueprints Promising programs: Youth Villages LifeSet and Year U p. MDRC’s project is seeking information about effective programs that provide services to help young people (ages 16-24) advance on education and employment pathways. To learn more, go to MDRC’s website.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) recently released a statement on Functional Family Therapy-Gangs (FFT-G). Blueprints certified the article referenced in this statement (Gottfredson et al., 2018) and decided FFT-G is part of Functional Family Therapy (FFT), a Model Plus Blueprints Program. The certified outcomes include delinquency and criminal behavior and illicit drug use but not gang involvement. Users interested in a program that has been evaluated with a population that includes gangs can locate FFT on the Blueprints program webpage by searching under “program type” and selecting “gang prevention and reduction.” Go here to read more.

Featured Model Program
Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND)

Blueprints Certified: 1997
Ages Served: Late Adolescence (15-18) – High School
Program Outcomes: Alcohol, Illicit Drug Use, Tobacco, Violence

A classroom-based drug prevention program designed for at-risk youth that aims to prevent teen drinking, smoking, marijuana, and other hard drug use.

Learn more > >

Featured Promising Program
Learning Together

Blueprints Certified: 2020
Ages Served: Early Adolescence (12-14) – Middle School
Program Outcomes: Alcohol, Antisocial-aggressive Behavior, Bullying, Conduct Problems, Delinquency and criminal Behavior, Illicit Drug Use, Mental Health, Sexual Risk Behaviors, Tobacco.

Learning Together is a school-based intervention grounded in schoolwide policies and systems, restorative practices, and social and emotional education with adolescents to reduce bullying and aggression and promote various dimensions of health and wellbeing. The program includes all-school staff trainings, restorative practices delivered by staff and specialized restorative practices for more serious behavior problems, action group meetings comprised of students and staff, and teacher-delivered lessons on social and emotional skills. The program lasts three years, during grades 8-10 in the United Kingdom (or middle school in the United States).

Learn more > >

Blueprints Interventions in the News
In case you’ve missed them, here are a few newspaper articles and web postings that feature some of our Blueprint’s Model and Promising Programs:

The Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) recently announced that seven NFP graduates will serve as “Parent Ambassadors” traveling the nation telling their stories and advocating for the evidence-based program, by engaging policymakers and the public to build awareness of the benefits of the NFP program. NFP (a Blueprints Model program) is a community health program in which nurses work with low-income, first-time pregnant mothers from prenatal care through the child’s second birthday. Go here to learn more about NFP’s Parent Ambassadors.
More on Nurse-Family Partnership: The Tennessee Department of Human Services recently awarded a $5 million grant to East Tennessee State University’s (ETSU) NFP which provides service for mothers from prenatal care through the child’s second birthday. NFP began working with ETSU in 2016, and since then has served over 300 women and seen the birth of 31 healthy babies. Read more about the award here.
As part of the city’s implementation of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Evidence2Success^TM framework, Community leaders in Memphis are implementing two Blueprints Promising programs with the purpose of improving the health, academic success and emotional well-being of African American students: (1) Strong African American Families for teens living in rural communities with the aim to prevent conduct problems, substance use and other risky behaviors, and (2) Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools, which aims to reduce children’s post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, as well as anxiety and depression resulting from exposure to violence. Go here to learn more about the efforts being made for Memphis African American students.
Through Jefferson County (Colorado’s) Communities that Care (CTC) program, 14 high school students were able to attend the Youth Leadership Initiative Conference held Feb. 3-6 in Washington, D.C. where the students discussed with some of the nation’s leaders the major issues teenagers face and how grant funding has helped youth promote positive social change. CTC is a Blueprints Promising program. Go here to learn more.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Shelby & Darke County in Ohio was recently awarded with grants from the Walmart Foundation totaling $3,500. The program provides mentoring services to over 300 youth in this service area. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a mentoring program that matches a volunteer adult mentor to an at-risk child or adolescent. The goal of the program is to improve academic success, attitudes and behaviors, and provide social and cultural enrichment to at-risk youth. Blueprints certified this program as Promising. Read more about the award here.
After studies showed that Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS) (a Blueprints Model program) positively impacted behavioral and academic outcomes, educators and school board members in Frederick, Maryland are looking to expand the social-emotional learning program and implement it in all pre-k through second grade classrooms this school year. PATHS is a classroom-based enrichment program designed to reduce aggression and behavior problems. Go here to learn more about PATHS implementation in Frederick, MD.

Our mailing address is:
University of Colorado Boulder | Institute of Behavioral Science
483 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309

FAQs for 2020 Blueprints Conference Cancellation due to COVID-19

March 17, 2020 UPDATE

This PDF has been created by our team to assist our conference registrants in completing the necessary steps to receive refunds related to the 2020 Blueprints Conference.

Blueprints 2020 Conference canceled due to COVID-19

Dear Blueprints Colleague and Conference Attendee,

We are writing to inform you that after much consideration and with public health safety as our top priority, we have decided to cancel the 2020 Blueprints Conference due to the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Please know this decision was difficult and was made after thoughtful dialogue with our planning partners. While we have been monitoring this situation for several days, after the governor of Colorado issued a state of emergency yesterday, we knew it was imperative that we make a decision and inform our constituents.

For nearly two years, we have worked diligently with our planning committee and event planning team to create a conference where some 700 professionals within the field of serving and supporting at-risk youth and adults can connect, share ideas and learn from one another. We greatly value our face-to-face time together, however, given the recommendations from government and health officials, we recognize that convening a large group of people in one place is not the right or practical thing to do at this time.

Many of our attendees are residents of some of the areas where the coronavirus is most prevalent, as well as international attendees. With travel bans being instituted and employers asking employees to forego professional travel, we feel it is in the best interest of all attendees to cancel our event during this extraordinary circumstance. We will provide details in the days to come regarding how attendees who are already registered can receive a full refund and what to do for those who reserved a room at the Westin Westminster.

Please know it is our goal to regroup and reimagine the Blueprints Conference in the near future. At this time, we are focused on getting this announcement out to everyone who is already engaged with the 2020 Blueprints Conference to help with adjusting plans as needed. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience canceling the conference may cause.

This announcement comes with our sincerest thanks for your support of Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development. We wish you and yours healthy days ahead. Thank you for your patience as we provide follow-up details. At this time, our first priority is to let you know that we are canceling the event so you can plan accordingly.

Warm wishes and be well,

Pam Buckley, PhD
Blueprints Director

Karl Hill, PhD
Blueprints Principal Investigator

Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND)

A classroom-based drug prevention program designed for at-risk youth that aims to prevent teen drinking, smoking, marijuana, and other hard drug use.

Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND) is a drug prevention program for high school youth who are at risk for drug use and violence-related behavior. The current version of the Project TND curriculum contains twelve 40-minute interactive sessions taught by teachers or health educators over a 3-week period. Sessions provide instruction in motivation activities to not use drugs; skills in self-control, communication, and resource acquisition; and decision-making strategies. The program is delivered universally and has been used in both traditional and alternative, high-risk high schools.

Classroom management in Project TND involves development of positive norms of classroom behavior. Although interaction among the youth is encouraged, the course is primarily teacher-directed and highly structured. In Project TND, the teacher’s role is to actively develop and maintain peer group support in the class by modeling support, positively reinforcing it among group members, and negatively reinforcing deviant peer bonds and activities. The teacher creates and structures interactions among youth in prosocial directions.

Blueprints has certified four studies evaluating TND, all conducted with high schools located in Southern California.

Study 1, Simon et al. (2002) and Sussman et al. (1998), reported on a cluster randomized control trial in which 21 schools and 1,074 students were randomly assigned to: 1) control group; 2) TND curriculum; or 3) TND curriculum plus school wide activities such as meetings, job training and drug-free party events. Results at one-year follow-up showed that students from schools in either program condition exhibited a reduction in alcohol and hard drug use prevalence rates, relative to students from the control schools.

In Study 2, Dent, Sussman & Stacy (2001) conducted a cluster randomized control trial with 1,208 students (grades 9 to 11) and 26 classrooms in three traditional, regular high schools. One-year follow-up results showed significant reduction for treatment compared to control of prevalence of hard drug use and alcohol use.

In Study 3 (Sussman, Dent, Craig et al., 2002; Sussman, Dent, & Stacy, 2002; Sussman et al., 2003), three sessions were added to the original TND program in order to create a revised TND curriculum. This 12-session version contained the same motivation-skills-decision-making material as the previous trials, with the addition of three new sessions that provided more information about tobacco and marijuana use and violence prevention. A randomized block design was used to assign 1,018 students from 18 continuation high schools to one of three conditions: 1) standard care control condition; 2) a self-instruction version of the 12-session TND curriculum (completed in class); or 3) a 12-session version of the TND curriculum delivered by project staff health educators. Results from the one-year follow-up showed that only the health educator-led condition provided a reduction in problem behavior rates (i.e., hard drug use, alcohol use, weapon carrying, tobacco and marijuana use), relative to each of the other conditions. Similarly, findings at the two-year follow-up showed the health educator-led treatment significantly lowered the probability of 30-day tobacco and hard drug use.

Study 4, Sun et al. (2008), provided results of a cluster randomized control trial that included 18 alternative and regular high schools and gathered data on 2,064 students. Students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) control; 2) cognitive perception information only curriculum (Cognitive Only); or 3) combined cognitive perception information + TND (Combined). For this study, the program was administered by both project health educators and classroom teachers, in contrast to studies 1-3 in which only project health educators delivered the TND program. One-year follow-up findings showed that frequency of hard drug use was significantly reduced in both treatment conditions relative to the control group.

In terms of cost-benefit analysis, Washington State Institute for Public Policy (December 2019) reports $5.70 in measured benefits per $1 spent in implementing Project Towards No Drug Abuse.

References:

Dent, C., Sussman, S., & Stacy, A. (2001). Project Towards No Drug Abuse: Generalizability to a general high school sample. Preventive Medicine, 32, 514-520.

Simon, T. R., Sussman, S., Dahlberg, L. L., & Dent C. W. (2002). Influence of a substance-abuse-prevention curriculum on violence-related behavior. American Journal of Health Behavior, 25, 103-110.

Sun, P., Sussman, S., Dent, C. W., & Rohrbach, L. A. (2008). One-year follow-up evaluation of Project Towards No Drug Abuse (TND-4). Preventive Medicine, 47, 438-442.

Sussman, S., Dent, C. W., Craig, S., Ritt-Olsen, A., & McCuller, W. J. (2002). Development and immediate impact of a self-instruction curriculum for an adolescent indicated drug abuse prevention trial. Journal of Drug Education, 32(2), 121-137.

Sussman, S., Dent, C., & Stacy, A. (2002). Project Towards No Drug Abuse: A review of the findings and future directions. American Journal of Health Behavior, 26, 354-365.

Sussman, S., Dent, C., Stacy, A., & Craig, S. (1998). One-year outcomes of Project Towards No Drug Abuse. Preventive Medicine, 27, 632-642.

Sussman, S., Sun, P., McCuller, W. J., & Dent, C. W. (2003). Project Towards No Drug Abuse: Two-year outcomes of a trial that compares health educator delivery to self instruction. Preventive Medicine, 37, 155-162.

Read the Program Fact Sheet

Author: Tom