Thank you to everyone who attended our October 22 Fall Coalition meeting and made it so special! You can find a copy of the data presentation at the bottom of this page and you can find further information about some of the microaggressions we discussed here, on the Racial Justice tab of this website.
We were delighted to present our 2020 Community Builder Award to Kia Burton-King of Community Action’s Family Center. Congratulations Kia and thank you for everything you bring and give to the community!
Family Day is a national celebration of family dinners and a reminder of the importance of spending quality time together as a family. s youth grow and reach their developmental competencies, there are contextual variables that promote or hinder the process. Family dinners are proven to promote these competencies.
The benefits of families enjoying meals together include opportunities to:
Connect as a family to talk about almost anything
Cook with your children
Give your children regular chores, like setting the table or helping to clean up after the meal
While these may sound simple or mundane, they’re vital protective factors that correlate with positive teen health outcomes related to decreased substance use.
A protective factor is often defined as “a characteristic at the biological, psychological, family, or community (including peers and culture) level that is associated with a lower likelihood of problem outcomes or that reduces the negative impact of a risk factor on problem outcomes.”
O’Connell, Boat, & Warner, 2009 p. xxvii
You’ll find lots of ideas about family-friendly meals, conversation starters, dinnertime games, and more (like getting everyone to help prepare dinner and clean up afterwards!) at the Family Dinner Project and Family Day websites. Here’s a post (with recipes!) about Family Dinner Day from our Parent Education Workshop, and listen in here for an interview with Bekki Craig of CTC’s Parent Education Workgroup on WHAI about Family Day.
These organizations have nominated parents who are natural leaders from within their programs to participate in the PEER Ambassador self-paced training program, and then to represent their organizations and the Communities That Care Coalition in providing outreach and education to other parents in the region – helping to connect families to important online and local resources. PEER Ambassadors receive monthly stipends for their participation as well as ongoing professional development opportunities.
The Communities That Care Coalition has revised its Community Action Plan and the latest version (the Coalition’s fifth) was presented for approval at the full coalition meeting on October 25, 2019. Also featured at the meeting:
a facilitated discussion about the importance of leading with race in a predominantly white rural area
release and discussion of data from the 2019 Franklin County/North Quabbin Youth Risk Behavior Survey
presentation of the 2019 Mike Fritz Community Builder Award to Dr. Yves Salomon-Fernández from Greenfield Community College
In 2007, Communities That Care was recognized as the “Got Outcomes” Coalition of Year by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). CADCA is the nation’s premier membership organization for substance abuse prevention coalitions, with representation from more than 5000 coalitions. The Communities That Care Coalition was selected from a nationally competitive pool of nominees.
The Got Outcomes! Coalition of the Year awards recognize coalitions that have successfully reduced substance abuse in their communities through evidence-based programs, policies or strategies. Applicants undergo a rigorous review process and winners are judged by a panel of expert coalition leaders. “These organizations represent the best of the best, and exemplify the excellent work that coalitions are doing around the country to prevent and reduce drug use in their communities,” said General Arthur T. Dean, CADCA’s Chairman and CEO, of Got Outcomes! Award recipients.
On September 24, 2018, the Communities That Care Coalition hosted a workshop for advocates of community use of space for food production and organizations interested in producing food products for sale or donation. For those unable to attend, the content of the workshop was captured in a webinar available here.
We wanted to share this nice resource from the JSS School Council. This was designed to help make sure that anyone planning an event had some guidance in thinking about all the different ways to make school community events more inclusive. Please feel free to take and adapt this form for your own purposes!
This report shares findings from meetings at all of the area districts, including information on local trends in school policies and practices, program highlights, current challenges, and ideas for next steps to enhance existing practices. It outlines how districts across Franklin County and the North Quabbin have created policies and practices that are in line with recent guidance from The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and that respond to the needs of their local communities. Local survey data is incorporated to provide further context.
In response to local interest, a special section on increasing equity in discipline includes research, best practices and local examples about how to respond to violations.
Throughout the report, clickable links to the Program Descriptions, an appendix and external websites provide an opportunity to learn more about specific programs.
Many thanks to everyone who met with us or provided information for this project!
In 2015-2016, CTC conducted a set of interviews and focus groups as a part of a community assessment on the topic of youth substance use. Coordinating Council members sought out interviews with school personnel, service providers, and law enforcement officials who work directly with youth who use, and held focus groups with parents and youth who are familiar with or embedded in local youth culture, including a high-risk segment of that culture.
Community members gathered to review findings from the community assessment and to share their own perspectives. Participants in this “Community Voices” session also viewed short videos created by area youth to share their experiences and knowledge about youth substance use. The assessment report is available here.
