Friday, July 21, 2006
CLEAN to assess
social services for local youth
By Angela Jones
The Winchester Star
WINCHESTER — The services provided to area youth will be under the microscope for the next year as part of a community needs assessment being conducted by CLEAN Inc.
|
|
|
Boys and Girls Club members Kesean Robinson (left), 9, and
Lio Quezada, 8, both of Winchester, and Teandre Johnson, 8, of Martinsburg,
W.Va., participate in the “Smart Moves” program Wednesday at the club on
North Kent Street. The program teaches how to boost self-esteem and make the
right decisions in life. |
Ciro Grassi, executive director of CLEAN, said the assessment will help determine what kinds of social services the community’s youth need. Areas of focus will include topics such as substance abuse, truancy, gang activity, and recreational needs.
Other agencies, like the United Way, complete these types of assessments, but Grassi said this one will be youth specific.
The assessment will also look at resources available in the area to provide services to area youth. The proposal for the project states that three primary risk and/or protective factors will be addressed — alienation and rebelliousness, favorable attitudes toward problem behavior, and early initiation of problem behavior.
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act funds will provide $14,878.87 of the $16,724.71 total project budget. The remaining $1,845.84 will be provided by CLEAN as an in-kind contribution.
According to a press release issued by CLEAN, “the Winchester area needs assessment is being funded in part by a grant from the Governor’s Office of Substance Abuse Prevention with the Governor’s portion of funds from the United States Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 2001, Title IV, part A of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number is 84-186.”
Grassi said a professional consultant — Jeffrey Rodman of Here 4 You Consulting — will oversee the project. Rodman most recently completed a similar assessment in Warren County.
The last CLEAN assessment was completed during the 1999 to 2000 time frame.
Results from this assessment will be compared to those results. CLEAN will not be the sole beneficiary of the information provided by the assessment.
Other agencies such as the Department of Social Services, Sheriff’s Office, commonwealth attorneys’ offices, school systems, city government, courts system, and other social services such as the Youth Development Center, Our Health, and Healthy Families will be able to utilize the information provided by the assessment.
The press release states that the following organizations are sponsoring the needs assessment:
Frederick County and Winchester Schools agree to provide Parents’ Resource Institute for Drug Education Survey Results, information from the Discipline Crime and Violence database, aid in gathering of Social Indicator Data, participate in Key Stakeholder meetings, and provide input about the resources available for the Prevention Resource Inventory.
The Frederick County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office will provide social input data as well as continue with the monthly Court-watch Committee meetings to apprise the citizens of our community on the flow of serious drug cases in the local court system, and the impact of drugs on local society.
The Youth Development Center, Boys & Girls Club of Northern Shenandoah Valley, Our Health Inc., Healthy Families Northern Shenandoah Valley, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, the Winchester Victim-Witness Program, and the Child Development Clinic of Northwest Virginia agree to aid in the gathering of Social Indicator Data, to participate in Key Stakeholder meetings, and to provide input for the Prevention Resource Inventory.
Frederick-Winchester Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Service Unit, the Winchester Commonwealth Attorney, and the 26th District Court Service Unit agree to aid in the gathering of Social Indicator Data.
Lord Fairfax Community College, The Workforce Investment Board Consortium, First Bank, the Parent Teacher Organization, and others are also sponsoring this project.
The results of the community needs assessment will be
available for dissemination in June 2007.
— Contact Angela Jones at ajones@winchesterstar.com