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For more information on dHA please do not hesitate to contact the firm's principal partner, Kristin duBay Horton. |
LFCRAC Subregional profile reporting In response to a request from the CT Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services (DMHAS) for a data driven analysis on the impact of
alcohol abuse in Sub-Region 1-1 (towns of Greenwich, Stamford, New Canaan
and Darien) the Lower Fairfield County Regional Action Council (LFCRAC)
developed a profile and priorities report with assistance from community
members. The profile describes the consumption patterns and consequences
of alcohol abuse and establishes priorities to be focused on to reduce
the harmful effects of alcohol abuse, tobacco use, prescription drug misuse,
and illegal drug use (heroin, cocaine, and marijuana). The profile and
priorities will be used as a building block for a sub-regional process
that will include capacity and readiness building, strategic planning,
implementation of evidence based programs, practices and strategies, and
evaluation of efforts to reduce alcohol abuse.
Finding Her Voice The program provides the opportunity for high-school-age girls from different backgrounds and cultures to work together in identifying and addressing the negative issues impacting their lives and then move beyond dialogue to take action and initiate positive change in their school and communities. "Finding Her Voice" will be offered during the 2007-08 school year and will be conducted in three phases. In the first phase, working together in a Study Circle Experience, the young participants will explore making healthy decisions, setting goals for their futures, and addressing the emotional, social, and behavior issues confronting them along the way. In the next phase, building on this newly gained self-knowledge; the students will create and implement action/advocacy projects targeted to other young women in their high schools. During the four-month process, a team of female students from Fairfield University and Sacred Heart University, working along with the RYASAP staff, will support the young high school students in providing technical assistance and serving as mentors. In early spring 2008, RYASAP will involve all of the youth and adult
participants in a third session to share their experiences and make recommendations
about what strategies proved the most effective in mobilizing their female
peers and effecting change in their schools and personal environments.
RYASAP Subregional Profile Report In response to a request from the CT Department of Mental Health and
Addiction Services (DMHAS) for a data driven analysis on the impact of
alcohol abuse in Sub-Region 1-2 (towns of Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield,
Monroe, Stratford, Trumbull) the Regional Youth/Adult Substance Abuse
Project (RYASAP) developed a profile and priorities report with assistance
from community members. The profile describes the consumption patterns
and consequences of alcohol abuse and establishes priorities to be focused
on to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol abuse, tobacco use, prescription
drug misuse, and illegal drug use (heroin, cocaine, and marijuana). The
profile and priorities will be used as a building block for a sub-regional
process that will include capacity and readiness building, strategic planning,
implementation of evidence based programs, practices and strategies, and
evaluation of efforts to reduce alcohol abuse.
Courage to Speak The Courage To Speak Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit drug prevention
organization whose mission is to save lives by empowering youth to be
drug-free and encourage parents to communicate the dangers of substance
use to their children.
dHA is proud to join RYASAP in a capacity building effort designed to
improve programs serving girls in Fairfield County.‘Raising the Bar’ will
be offered during the 2008-2009 school year and will be conducted in nine
segments. Through a series of trainings, women will delve into what makes
programming meet the unique needs of young women and girls, and the criteria
for ‘best practice’, Trainings will be delivered in the order and way
that best dovetails with the needs of the group. The series will include
best practice program models, ‘nuts and bolts’ of gender specific programming,
assessment tools, evaluation methods, relevant technology, program marketing,
working with parents and other constituencies, cultural diversity, and
organizational sustainability. Every effort will be made to appreciate
the constraints of staff availability by offering in-person trainings
as well as trainings via electronic modalities. For more information please
review the attached application on contact Jan Laster at RYASAP (203)
579-2727
United Way, Schools of Hope Evaluation In 2006, three schools were chosen by the United Way of Eastern Fairfield
County to participate in a program with the ultimate goal of improving
third grade reading levels and reducing the achievement gap between white
and non-white students. The Schools of Hope Model was adopted because
of a successful effort undertaken by the United Way in Wisconsin. In Greater
Bridgeport three schools (Franklin, McKinley and Webster Schools) were
selected to participate in the program with each school designing unique
programs for the needs of their students. Schools of Hope programs began
during the 2006-2007 school year and continued through June 2008. dHA
was hired to provide an evaluation of the program at all three sites.
During the second year, each of the three schools successfully accomplished
many of the tasks that they had decided on at the beginning of the programs.
After reviewing the various programs to date, dHA found the following
themes emerging with all schools tapping into one or more of the following
topics with the programs they have offered students and families: Individual
student support for struggling or at-risk students; parent engagement
and skill-building; increased books in the home; on-time attendance; and,
special support for English Language Learners. 'Schools of Hope' Year Two final report
Bridgeport Advancing Capacity Together (ACT) The City of Bridgeport has announced a request for organizations to submit a competitive application to receive technical assistance and capacity building sub-award funds. Organizations must currently provide services or are looking to expand to provide services to Bridgeport residents who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.
The City of Bridgeport is the intermediary organization for this project in partnership with The WorkPlace, Inc., The Council of Churches of Greater Bridgeport, the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County, the Compassion Capital Fund and duBay Horton Associates.
For more information on the application process, please contact the Council of Churches at 203-334-1121.
dHA is currently contracted to provide evaluation services for four drug free communities initiatives in Connecticut. Since 1997, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), have been directing the Drug-Free Communities Support Program which is an anti-drug program providing grants of up to $100,000 to community coalitions that mobilize their communities to prevent youth alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug, and inhalant abuse. For more information go to www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/dfc/index.html Evaluation services being provided by dHA range from developing methods to meet national requirements (collecting four core measures) while matching local concerns, development of focus group protocols, survey tools and providing training and technical assistance for local groups. Training materials for local groups have included trainings on social marketing, program evaluation, and community assessment. dHA staff provide both process and outcome evaluation efforts for these funded programs. For more information on these activities please don't hesitate to contact dHA kdubayhorton@dhassoc.net
The Lower Fairfield County Regional Action Council (LFCRAC) has contracted with dHA to evaluate Taking Charge, a multiple session curriculum designed to enable at-risk teens to identify negative influences and make positive decisions. dHA developed evaluation tools, which include a pre-curriculum questionnaire, a post-curriculum questionnaire, and a follow-up questionnaire for participating teens, as well as an evaluation tool for facilitators to monitor adherence to the curriculum. dHA provided training to the curriculum facilitators in the use of the tools, and will perform analysis of the data gathered from the evaluation tools.
Fairfield University School of Nursing ELDER Project Fairfield University's School of Nursing received grant funding to identify best demonstrated practices and to develop and pilot a training curriculum for nurses working with the elderly. dHA has been contracted to analyze secondary data, develop a focus group protocol, and conduct focus groups with nurses and aides who work with elderly patients in nursing homes, community-based health centers, and with home health agencies. From these groups, dHA will develop recommendations for the training curriculum, and will provide technical assistance for evaluation tools used in the training sessions, including pre/post meeting evaluation tools and journaling review tools.
dHA worked with members of the Bridgeport Health Improvement Partnership to analyze and publicize findings of the first ever city-wide assessment of the health needs and concerns of Bridgeport residents. Two surveys were conducted: a phone survey of 1204 residents and an in-person survey of 320 residents. The results were analyzed and presented at a press conference on March 29th and at the city's health fair on April 3rd.
In September 2006 the Town of Trumbull applied for support from the CT
Dept of Mental Health and Addiction Services for funds to support environmental
efforts to reduce drinking among Trumbull adolescents. The Town of Trumbull
competed successfully in this grant process and received $66,000 per year
annually renewable for up to three years to better understand and
plan efforts to reduce underage drinking. The Trumbull Partnership Against Underage Drinking recognizes that while
they have a range of data detailing teen alcohol use, there is very little
data on the why. What is required is more intuitive, qualitative
data that will reveal what is influencing Trumbull teens perceptions
of risk and what influences their decisions to use alcohol. As such, Trumbull
proposes to devote some of their planning time to conducting qualitative
data-gathering efforts, primarily key informant interviews and focus groups
with community members, parents, and students, which will enable them
to more thoroughly understand the causal and environmental factors that
are peculiar to Trumbull teens. This information will also be instrumental
in Trumbull s efforts to identify the best ways to change community
norms. For this effort the city of Trumbull has contracted with a Bridgeport
based public health consulting firm (duBay Horton Associates) to conduct
focus groups, key informant interviews and community meetings to gather
information on underage drinking in Trumbull, its causes and potential
strategies to reduce it.
Strategic Planning for a Local Health Department In the Fall of 2005 dHA was contracted to aid the Bridgeport Department of Health and Social Services (BDHSS) in development of a strategic plan. This work included secondary data analysis, key informant interviews with staff, funders and community partners, and input at several community meetings to both inform and gather information on community needs from the general public. The combination of primary and secondary data has been used to generate a final report and presentation and recommendations to the Health Department. If you would like to discuss strategic planning needs, or the tools used for this report, please contact dHA at nchanana@dhassoc.net |
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