Many young children will benefit from a donation made on Sunday,
December 11, 2011, by the 664th Air Craft Control & Warning  (AC&W) Squadron.  At their annual reunion, held at the Sloan Inn on Ohio Hi-Point Career Center’s Campus, the Squadron Reunion Committee collected 92 gloves, hats scarves, and $245 dollars to benefit Project Child’s Toasty Tots Program operated by the Logan County Family & Children First Council.  Reunion Chairman Larry Lewis reported, “We have been donating to Toasty Tots for years and are happy to be able to help out again this year.”

Toasty Tots has provided nearly 200 children with coats or boots and hats and gloves this winter thanks to generous donations such as this one from the squadron. “The 92 hats, gloves, and scarves that were donated come at a time when supplies were getting low, so we are extremely grateful for the Squadron considering our program as a way to give back to the community during the holiday season,” shared Angela Haver, Executive Director of the Logan County Family & Children First Council.  The Council is a non-profit charity organization with a mission to facilitate community collaboration in Logan County to enhance services, resources, and well-being for children and families.

Root Cause: Peer Pressure (Peer Influence)
To fit in
Everyone is using
Curiosity
Use to cope

Root Cause: Availability
Low cost
Lack of consequences
Increase in crime

Root Cause: Socially Accepted by Parents/other adults
Generational use
Lack of employment

Root Cause: Low perception of harm
Marijuana as Medicine
Safer than beer
Mixed messages
Media glamorizes

Root Cause: Lack of supervision
Shrinking number of kids involved in extra-curricular activities
Lack of discipline
Lack of positive adult role models

There will be a work group meeting November 22, 2011 from 2:00-3:00 pm at the Discovery Center to continue the Marijuana Conversation.

In October, the Youth Council of the Logan County Drug Free Youth Coalition, consisting of youth from all schools in Logan County, rallied their peers to pledge to be drug free.  By signing a banner stating, “It’s up to me to be drug free” students are showing they are in the majority by pledging to be drug free.  Students from each school district will gather together in Logan County Family Court room #2 at 9am on Friday, October 28^th to show their unity by presenting the four school banners with student pledges to be drug free to the honorable Judge C. Douglas Chamberlain.  The celebration is in conjunction with the National Red Ribbon week, celebrated in schools the week of October 30^th.  The Red Ribbon week is the kick-off event for the Youth Council’s many activities this school year, including Stand for Peace, an extension of Challenge Day™, which was conducted in most schools last year.

Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country.  It serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a stand for the hopes and dreams of children through a commitment to drug prevention and education.  It is a personal commitment to live drug free lives with the ultimate goal of a drug free America.  Perhaps more importantly, Red Ribbon Week commemorates the ultimate sacrifice made by DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who died at the hands of drug traffickers in Mexico while fighting the battle against illegal drugs to keep our country and children safe. Today, Red Ribbon Week is nationally recognized and celebrated, helping to preserve Special Agent Camarena’s memory and further the cause for which he gave his life. The Red Ribbon Campaign also became a symbol of support for the DEA’s efforts to reduce demand for drugs through prevention and education programs. By wearing a red ribbon during the last week in October, Americans demonstrate their ardent opposition to drugs. They pay homage not only to Special Agent Camarena, but to all men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in support of our nation’s struggle against drug trafficking and abuse.

The Logan County Drug Free Youth Council’s mission is to unify all of Logan County schools to build bonds between students and schools by maximizing power to make change.  The Coalition’s mission is to reduce and prevent the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs through community outreach, education, and support by bringing together programs, people, and organizations that ascribe to our vision and desire to improve the quality of life in Logan County communities.

The Logan County Drug Free Youth Coalition has been named a “Coalition of Excellence” by Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). Sponsored by CADCA’s National Coalition Institute, the Got Outcomes! initiative gives coalition leaders across the country the opportunity to nominate their coalition for a prestigious national award. The rigorous two-phase application process is highly competitive and requires applicants to provide detailed information on a variety of aspects of coalition functioning including their assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation processes. Winners are selected by a panel of experts at the federal, state and local levels.

“We congratulate the Logan County Drug Free Youth Coalition on their accomplishments and for being true leaders in the field of substance abuse prevention. The CADCA Got Outcomes! winners exemplify the excellent work that coalitions are doing around the country to prevent and reduce drug use in their communities,” said Gen. Arthur T. Dean, CADCA’s chairman and CEO.

The Logan County Drug Free Youth Coalition received the “Milestones” award. This category provides newer coalitions, or those with a new initiative, the opportunity to highlight their contributions toward achieving community-level reductions in one or more substance abuse or related issues. “By implementing a sound and strategic data-driven plan, the Logan County Drug Free Youth Coalition has achieved short-term and intermediate outcomes and is clearly on their way to achieving measurable decreases in community substance abuse rates,” said Evelyn Yang, Deputy Director of Evaluation and Research at CADCA.

The coalition was selected for their implementation of a comprehensive set of strategies to address underage drinking.  First, they conducted a community assessment and identified community conditions such as retailers selling to minors, adults providing to youth, and peer influence to drink alcohol as contributors to underage drinking. The coalition worked closely with community partners to implement a comprehensive set of strategies including providing responsible beverage server trainings to local merchants, creating a social host campaign for parents, and assisting law enforcement in developing policy on compliance procedures.

Coalition efforts contributed to drastic changes in adult perceptions of retail availability of alcohol to youth between 2010 and 2011. For instance, more adults report that alcohol is difficult for youth to get (69 percent in 2010; 86 percent in 2011) and more adults indicate that alcohol retailers are careful when it comes to preventing the sale of alcohol to minors (36 percent in 2010; 51 percent in 2011). “Coalition leaders were surprised with the outcomes we accomplished with only several year of community intervention strategies” stated Margaret Appel, Project Coordinator for the Drug Free Youth Coalition.

The coalition will receive their award at CADCA’s 2012 Annual National Leadership Forum on Thursday, February 9, at Maryland’s National Harbor just outside of Washington, D.C. CADCA’s National Leadership Forum is the nation’s largest training event for community coalition advocates and substance abuse professionals, featuring more than 100 workshops on some of most pressing issues facing substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals. Learn more about the CADCA Forum and register online at www.cadca.org. More information on the Got Outcomes! Awards is available at www.cadca.org/gotoutcomes.

ABOUT CADCA

CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) is the national membership organization representing coalitions working to make America’s communities safe, healthy and drug-free. CADCA’s mission is to build and strengthen the capacity of community coalitions by providing technical assistance and training, public policy advocacy, media strategies and marketing programs, conferences, and special events. CADCA’s National Coalition Institute was established by Congress to increase the capacity and effectiveness of community anti-drug coalitions. The Institute helps coalitions achieve measurable results, improve evaluation methods and implement evidence-based practices. For more information about CADCA and the National Coalition Institute, visit www.cadca.org.

ABOUT THE LOGAN COUNTY DRUG FREE YOUTH COALITION

The Logan County Drug Free Youth Coalition is a collaboration of community partners that work together to reduce and prevent the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs through community outreach, education, and support.

Established on August 15, 2006, the Coalition formed as a response to public health concerns identified during a community assessment.  Logan County community members and leaders rank substance abuse among youth as a top priority according to youth need ranking survey and focus groups conducted in the fall of 2005.  Parents, ministers, youth, school teachers/administrators, professionals and community members formed the Coalition to address this social issue.  A refined community assessment on youth substance abuse was completed in early 2008, where reducing underage alcohol use was prioritized.  In 2010 the Coalition graduated from the National Coalition Academy, an intense training program provided through CADCA’s Training Institute. For more information on the Logan County Coalition, visit www.logancountyfcfc.com

9:00am-2:30pm

Christ Our King Church (1325 CR 9, Bellefontaine)

Please call to register your child 592-7287

Fall’11 Community Screening

The Life Space Interview was originally developed for teachers to use in the classroom, but can be applied at home as well.  In a situation where your child has made some type of poor behavior choice and you are stepping in to address the issue, just remember, “I ESCAPE”:

I – Isolate the Conversation: Take the child to a “quiet space” to talk.

E – Explore the Child’s Point of View: Get as many details as you can about what happened. Practice active listening, not problem solving!

S – Summarize the Feeling and Content: “This is what I hear you saying.” “You’re telling me you felt…right?

“C – Connect Behavior to Feelings: Though you are not excusing the behavior, show you understand what your child was feeling and why a poor choice was made.

A – Alternative Behaviors Discussed: Together, talk about ways your child could have handled the situation differently, resulting in a more positive outcome.

P – Plan and Practice New Behavior: Acknowledge that your child may feel a bit silly role-playing, but explain that practice will help him/her put it in action. Anticipate and plan for obstacles.

E – Enter Child Back into his/her Routine: Your child should feel hopeful and encouraged when your conversation is finished.

The goal, through the Life Space Interview, is to provide your child new ways of thinking, feeling and behaving so that better choices can be made when the opportunity presents itself next time. Source: Life Space Interview: Fritz Redl and David Wineman

Your pennies, nickels and dimes help raise thousands of dollars every year.  And those dollars are used to help your neighbors right here in your own communities.  Health and rescue organizations, food banks, educational projects, child care programs, and individuals with special needs are just a few of the possibilities for your Operation Round Up donations.

Logan County Family and Children First Council has been awarded the Round up grant from Logan Co Co-OP in the amount of $2,500.

Grant funds will help assist 25 local families with children birth to 21 with an estimated $ 100 per family for transportation and other supportive needs not available for them through existing community programming (enhanced Medicaid, TLC title XX funding, HMG assistance, PRC, etc).  In the human service field these supports are called non-traditional services.  This funding would be utilized to help families with unique needs access supports to succeed.  Examples of such support could include gas cards, TLC (transportation) coupons, birth certificates, respite, emergency assistance with rent or utilities, or other supportive needs identified through their wrap plans, Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or comparable plan.

The Pajama Program is having a “Stuff A bus” Campaign to benefit the children of Logan County Family and Children First Council during the entire month of October.

The Pajama Program collects NEW pajamas and NEW books for children in foster care, shelters, and those in need.

Please help us by donating NEW PAJAMAS and taking them to one of our collection sites during October:

J.C.Penney Store—1710 S. Main St., Bellefontaine

Hilliker YMCA—300 Sloan Blvd., Bellefontaine

Artistic Treasures—116 W. Columbus Ave., Bellefontaine

Jennings-Farley Funeral Home 5591 U.S.Rte 68, West Liberty

Logan County Pajama Program Webpage