Substance Education and Awareness Fund Annual Report 2018-19
Annual Report 2018-19
Boulder Substance Education and
Awareness (SEA) Fund
2
Annual Report 2018-19
Boulder Substance Education and
Awareness (SEA) Fund
Submitted to:
City of Boulder Housing & Human Services
Community Investments Program
December 2019
For more information, please contact:
Julia Simhai, MPH
jsimhai@omni.org
303-839-9422 ext. 137
Project Team: Lynnette “T” Schweimler, Charlotte Gray
Acknowledgements: OMNI expresses sincere appreciation to the Boulder County Community
Services Department and the partners of the SEA Fund for their collaboration on this evaluation
and contributions to both process and outcomes data collected for this report.
3
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 4
The SEA Fund .............................................................................................................................................. 6
History of the SEA Fund ............................................................................................................................. 6
Current SEA Partners .................................................................................................................................. 6
Evaluation Structure and Goals.................................................................................................................. 8
Progress Toward SEA Goals ................................................................................................................... 10
Goal 1: Widespread Distribution ............................................................................................................. 10
Goal 2: Increase Perceptions of Risk ....................................................................................................... 14
Goal 3: Reduce Youth Substance Use .................................................................................................... 19
Goal 4: Reduce Accidental Ingestion ...................................................................................................... 20
SEA Fund Impact and Challenges ........................................................................................................... 21
SEA Partner Impact .................................................................................................................................... 21
SEA Fund Challenges ................................................................................................................................. 22
What's Next for the SEA Fund? ............................................................................................................. 23
Appendix ................................................................................................................................................... 25
Common Measure Questions .................................................................................................................. 25
SEA Fund Logic Model .............................................................................................................................. 27
4
Executive Summary
On November 5, 2013, City of Boulder voters approved Ordinance 7916, which authorized the city to impose
an excise tax of up to ten percent and a sales and use tax of up to ten percent on recreational marijuana sales
to offset some of the indirect costs of recreational marijuana. In June 2016, the City of Boulder launched the
Substance Education and Awareness (SEA) Fund, which utilizes a portion of this tax revenue.
The SEA Fund serves as a community-wide substance use prevention initiative. Funding is used by community
agencies (partners) to provide direct programming and to disseminate media campaigns designed to prevent
youth substance use. This report is a compilation of data from the third year of the SEA Fund evaluation and
documents progress made toward achieving the four SEA Fund goals, which are outlined in the following
sections. The partners below were active in Year 3 of the SEA Fund (July 2018 - June 2019).
Boulder Substance Education and
Awareness (SEA) Fund
2018-19 Annual Report Executive Summary
52%25%23%
were
parents were adults
who work with
youth
were
youth
About the SEA Fund
Goal 1: Widespread Distribution of Programs and Messaging
Sources of Strength promotes connections
between middle school peers and caring
adults.
EFFEKT trains parents on positively
influencing their children’s attitudes and
behaviors.
Responsible Association of Retailers trains
retailers to promote patron safety and limit
youth access to substances.
Youth Prosocial Activities provide substance-
free Teen Nights Out and Days of Service.
Influencer Trainings help YMCA staff be trusted
adults and effective communicators with youth.
Speak Now Campaign teaches parents
strategies for talking to youth about substance
use.
Out of Reach Campaign encourages parents to
keep substances out of reach of young children.
The number of direct programming participants has increased more than 40%
each year of the SEA Fund, with 733 individuals served this year.
350
517
733
Among the 733 participants in
direct programming this year:
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
5.2
million
impressions were
garnered by SEA-
funded community
messaging campaigns
(Speak Now and Out
of Reach) in Year 3,
including bus ads,
billboards, online ads,
and radio spots.
5
Goal 2: Increase Perceptions of Risk
Goal 3: Reduce Youth
Substance Use
Year 4 of the SEA Fund will include:
•Expansion of the evaluation to include common
outcome measures across all partners. These will
allow for comparison of SEA outcomes to Healthy
Kids Colorado Survey data.
•Continuation of the SEA dashboard for program
reporting.
•Addition of two new partner programs that will
expand the SEA portfolio to include prevention of
vaping and opioid misuse.
What’s Next for SEA
For more information on the SEA Fund or to access the full 2018 -19 report, please contact
Elizabeth Crowe, City of Boulder Housing and Human Services: CroweE@bouldercolorado.gov.
SEA programs and messaging are designed to increase perceptions of risk
of substance use as well as build protective factors that buffer against
youth substance use and enable healthy development.
Overall, SEA program participants report high perceptions of risk and
protective factors. National research on adolescent perceived risk of
substance use has shown that increases in perceived risk are associated
with decreases in substance use rates. The measures below represent a
portion of SEA data collected this year on risk and protective factors.
The SEA evaluation is tracking substance use rates
among Boulder youth. In 2017, one in three
Boulder Valley School District high schoolers
reported drinking alcohol and more than 20%
reported using marijuana in the past 30 days.
Among BVSD high schoolers, in the past 30 days:
Goal 4: Reduce Accidental
Ingestion
2.4 million
impressions
The Out of Reach campaign aims to decrease the
number of children who accidentally ingest
substances left within reach by encouraging
parents to safely store substances. This year’s
campaign featured bus ads, billboards, radio
spots, information cards, and a website. The
campaign achieved:
35%
drank
alcohol
22%
used
marijuana
SEA Partner Impact
SEA partners report that being a member of the
SEA Fund has been beneficial to their work and
organization in a variety of ways.
Organizational benefits include
increased evaluation skills and
prevention knowledge.
SEA facilitates more collaboration with
other organizations and community
members to address substance use.
Over 2,000
website visitors
of Speak Now-trained parents plan to change
their approach to discussing substance use
77%
97%
of SOS participants have an
adult at school they trust
85%
97% of SOS participants think
regular alcohol use is risky
of SOS participants think it is wrong for
someone their age to use marijuana
YMCA Prosocial Teen Night Out
6
The SEA Fund
History of the SEA Fund
On November 5, 2013, City of Boulder voters approved Ordinance 7916, which authorized the
city to impose an excise tax of up to ten percent and a sales and use tax of up to ten percent on
recreational marijuana sales to offset some of the indirect costs of recreational marijuana.
In June 2016, the City of Boulder launched the Substance Education and Awareness (SEA) Fund,
leveraging the City's recreational marijuana tax revenue to fund community agencies (partners) to
provide direct programming and to disseminate media campaigns designed to prevent youth
substance use. Boulder County Public Health and Boulder County Community Services worked in
partnership with the Healthy Futures Coalition (HFC) to identify the original set of SEA Fund
programs, all of whom were coalition members. HFC is a coalition of community agencies,
businesses, and individuals focused on developing protective factors and reducing risk factors for
all youth as the means for effective community-based substance abuse prevention.
Boulder County Community Services Department manages the distribution of funds to partners. In
addition, the Community Services Department provides technical assistance to partners to support
implementation of their activities. Full descriptions of each of the SEA partners currently funded
are below.
Current SEA Partners
Boulder County Public Health: The safe storage campaign, branded Out of Reach is
a media and education campaign for adults and retailers. It is designed to reduce
accidental ingestion and unintended access to all substances (marijuana, alcohol,
and prescription drugs) and provide information about the effects of substance use
and addiction on individuals, families, and communities.
Boulder County Community Services: Boulder County Community Services
provides technical support for SEA partners, assists with project coordination,
reinforces consistent messaging across community partners, and offers education
and training opportunities for SEA partners.
Boulder County Community Services also manages the Speak Now campaign in the
City of Boulder. This campaign includes targeted community outreach to parents at
events such as back to school nights, the Latino Festival, and parent conferences. In
addition to the media campaign, SEA funds support community training events for
parents to provide them with the skills to have effective prevention conversations
with their children.
7
Boulder Valley School District: Boulder Valley School District manages two
programs funded through SEA: Sources of Strength (SOS) and EFFEKT.
The mission of SOS is to increase help-seeking behaviors and promote connections
between peers and caring adults. SOS uses peer leaders to enhance protective
factors and leverages the power of peer social networks to change unhealthy
norms and culture, ultimately preventing suicide, bullying, and substance use. This
upstream model strengthens multiples sources of support (protective factors) for
young individuals so they have strengths and readily available resources to rely on
during difficult times.
The EFFEKT program provides parents with practical advice on how they can
positively influence their children’s attitudes and behaviors. Information is
disseminated to parents of middle school students at the beginning of each
semester in large group meetings and by regular communications throughout the
year. EFFEKT reinforces the message that parents have a strong influence on their
children’s attitudes and behaviors and en courages them to prioritize prevention of
substance use for their children.
Responsible Association of Retailers: The Reponsible Association of Retailers (RAR)
connects retailers from the alcohol and cannabis industries with prevention and
treatment professionals to promote patron safety and limit youth access to
substances. In exchange for an agreement to certain operational standards and
attendance at monthly meetings, RAR provides its members with staff trainings,
free resources such as ID checking guides, and member discounts for self-check
programs and responsible vendor training. RAR joined the SEA Fund in the spring of
2019, and thus did not collect data in Year 3 of the evaluation to include in this
report.
YMCA of Northern Colorado: The YMCA of Northern Colorado manages two SEA-
funded programs: Adult Influencer Training and Youth Prosocial Activities.
Adult Influencer trainings educate adults who work and interact with youth at the
YMCA on how to become an “askable adult” or trusted person to talk with. The goal
of the program is to train adults on how to effectively communicate and interact
with youth to have a positive impact on their lives. The training focuses on topics
including substance use, bullying, and parental disputes, and teaches adults to
comfortably manage conversations with youth.
Youth Prosocial activities are substance-free events (monthly Teen Nights Out and
quarterly Days of Service) which create an environment for young people where
caring, dedicated staff are there to listen and help them navigate the stresses,
changes, and choices that come with adolescence. Building relationships with
responsible adults and other young people from different backgrounds helps give
youth the inner strength to avoid risky behaviors.
8
Evaluation Structure and Goals
At the outset of the SEA Fund, the City of Boulder specified four goals for the program. Since
2016, the primary aim of the evaluation has been to assess the effectiveness of funded programs
in addressing the four SEA goals. The goals of the SEA Fund are as follows:
SEA Fund Goals Evaluation Questions that
Measure Progress toward Goals
Goal 1: Widespread
Distribution
Widespread community
distribution and awareness of
information and programs
developed.
• How many youth and adults received
direct services funded by the SEA
Fund?
• How many youth and adults were
exposed to the SEA-funded
community-wide messaging?
Goal 2: Increase Perceptions of
Risk
Shift in community perceptions
of risk associated with
substance use, including the
impact of drugs, alcohol, and
recreational marijuana, and use
of prescription medications on
children and youth.
• What evidence is there that SEA
strategies resulted in increases in
adult risk perceptions of youth
substance use?
• What evidence is there that SEA
strategies resulted in increases in
youth risk perceptions of substance
use?
• What evidence is there that SEA
strategies bolstered youth protective
factors against substance use?
Goal 3: Reduce Youth
Substance Use
Prevent/reduce youth use of
alcohol and recreational drugs
including marijuana.
• What evidence is there that SEA
strategies resulted in lower rates of
youth substance use or related
consequences?
Goal 4: Reduce Accidental
Ingestion Among Youth
Reduce accidental ingestion of
marijuana and other drugs.
• What evidence is there that SEA
strategies resulted in lower rates of
accidental ingestion of marijuana and
other drugs among youth aged 0-9?
9
OMNI has worked with the City of Boulder and SEA partners since 2016 to design data collection
strategies that build the evidence surrounding the four SEA Fund goals (see the appendix for a
copy of the evaluation logic model). The first year of the evaluation focused on creating evaluation
infrastructure and establishing process measures to track progress toward SEA Goal 1. In Year 2,
the evaluation added outcome measures to track progress toward SEA Goal 2. SEA partners set a
target to achieve through their programming for each outcome. The evaluation tracks individual
program outcome results as well as collective progress toward outcome targets for the full
portfolio of partner programs. This report includes data and activities from Year 3 of the SEA
evaluation (July 2018 – June 2019). Process and outcome measures in Year 3 were the same as in
Year 2 of the evaluation.
In addition to the process and outcome measures that address the four SEA goals, the evaluation
includes internal assesments of the SEA Fund's effectiveness and impact on partner organizations.
These assessments include:
• A bi-annual survey of SEA partner staff;
• Quarterly program reporting on progress, challenges, and supports needed; and
• Documentation of technical assistance requests, conversations, and feedback provided to
partner staff by OMNI and Boulder County Community Services.
10
Progress Toward SEA Goals
The following sections of the report describe progress made toward achieving the four SEA Fund
goals. This report includes aggregated data and selected program-level measures to summarize
progress. Detailed process and outcome data for each program, including participant
demographics, are available on the SEA Fund dashboard hosted by the City of Boulder.
Goal 1: Widespread Distribution
The first goal of the SEA Fund is widespread community distribution and awareness of information
and programs developed. The SEA Fund has taken a comprehensive approach to distribution and
program awareness by funding a mix of direct programming, community messaging, and long-term
capacity-building activities.
Direct Programming
This year, SEA partners implemented five direct programs serving a mix of youth, parents, and
adults who work with youth: Sources of Strength, EFFEKT, Adult Influencer Training, Youth
Prosocial Activities, and Speak Now training.
The number of participants who received direct programming has increased
more than 40% each year of the SEA Fund, with 733 individuals served this
year.
350
517
733
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
52%
Among the 733 participants in
direct programming this year:
25%23%
were
parents
were adults
who work
with youth
were
youth
11 Direct programming participants by target audience 382 Parents 186 Adults Who
Work with Youth 165 Youth
• 66 parents attended
an EFFEKT training.
• 316 parents
attended a Speak
Now training.
• 7 school staff members
served as adult leaders
for Sources of Strength
programming at their
school.
• 179 YMCA staff
members completed
Adult Influencer training.
• 91 students were peer
leaders for Sources of
Strength programming.
• 74 teens attended
youth prosocial
activities (Teen Nights
Out, Days of Service).
Creating a trusting community
among Boulder's adolescents
"The most impactful thing for me was
when we split into groups and talked
a lot about what we struggle with…
It was really powerful to see people
that I don't know very well talk about
a very personal matter in their lives to
almost strangers. Everyone was
supportive of all the others, it was
awesome."
-SOS Youth Participant
Equipping parents to have
effective prevention
conversations
"Groups of parents have been seen
giving feedback to each other on how
they handle certain situations. I have
had several individuals approach me
after presentations asking advice on
how to talk about EFFEKT skills with
their partners who were not in
attendance."
-EFFEKT Program Staff Member
Sources of Strength display at a City of
Boulder middle school
12
Community Messaging
To complement direct programming that focuses on a small group of participants, community
messaging campaigns reach a larger audience. SEA funding supported two community messaging
campaigns this year: Speak Now and Out of Reach.
The Speak Now campaign is part of a statewide effort combining direct parent education and
mixed media messaging to encourage parents to talk to their children about substance use.
Out of Reach encourages parents to keep marijuana, prescriptions, and alcohol out of reach of
young children to prevent accidental ingestion and overdose.
Together, the Speak Now and Out of Reach campaigns had more than 5.2 million
impressions across bus ads, billboards, online ads, and radio spots.
• 2,448,707 Out of Reach impressions
• 2,314,139 Speak Now online ad impressions
• 440,796 Speak Now bus ad impressions
In addition, six of the seven SEA partners distributed Speak Now informational
materials to their program's audience, amplifying the reach of the campaign.
Speak Now campaign image and bus ad
13
Community Capacity for Long-Term Substance Use Prevention
In addition to the direct programming and community messaging for the public, the SEA Fund is
also focused on sustainability by building capacity for substance use prevention work among the
participating partners and their staff. A number of activities support capacity building, including
connecting SEA partners to existing community resources (such as the Healthy Futures Coalition
and the Speak Now prevention campaign) and enrolling SEA partner staff in Substance Abuse
Prevention Skills Training. The Boulder County Community Services Department also regularly
updates SEA partner staff on training resources in Colorado that will help partners meet the
qualifications for becoming a Certified Prevention Specialist, such as prevention ethics course s.
The table below describes the activities SEA partner staff completed this year to bolster their
prevention skills and engage with other prevention initiatives in Boulder.
Prevention Skills Development Engagement with Complementary
Prevention Initiatives
• 4 of 7 SEA partners are run by staff
who have completed Substance Abuse
Prevention Skills Training (SAPST).
SAPST is a federally recognized
curriculum designed for substance use
prevention practitioners.
• 1 SEA partner staff member has
completed certification to become a
SAPST trainer, which will allow for
additional SAPST training opportunities
in future years.
• 3 SEA partners have staff trained to
deliver the Speak Now parent program.
• All SEA partner staff attended at least
one Healthy Futures Coalition meeting
this year, and five staff attended five or
more meetings. The Healthy Futures
Coalition is a group of individuals and
organizations dedicated to reducing
substance use in Boulder County and
provides several partnership
opportunities for SEA partners to build
their connections and impact.
14
Goal 2: Increase Perceptions of Risk
The second SEA Fund goal is to shift community perceptions of risk associated with substance
use, including the impact of drugs, alcohol, and recreational marijuana, and use of prescription
medications on children and youth. SEA programs and messaging are designed to increase
perceptions of risk of substance use as well as build protective factors that buffer against youth
substance use and enable healthy development.
Data for Goal 2 are tracked across three domains: youth perceptions of risk, youth protective
factors, and youth-adult interactions. Within each domain, the programs addressing that domain
collect outcome data from program participants and set targets for their outcome results. Across
all domains, 8 of the 13 direct programming targets were met this year. The following sections
provide detailed data on each outcome and target.
Youth Perceptions of Risk
Sources of Strength's direct work with youth is intended to change unhealthy norms. Part of this
work involves changing youth's perceptions of risk regarding substance use behavior. National
research on adolescent perceived risk of substance use has shown that increases in perceived risk
are associated with decreases in substance use rates.1 The data below were collected to
understand SOS participants' perceptions of risk of alcohol and marijuana use.
Youth participating in the Sources of Strength program were more likely to
perceive high levels of risk associated with alcohol and marijuana use than their
Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) peers.2
The percentage of SOS participants who think regular alcohol use is risky increased 14 percentage
points between 2017-18 and 2018-19. Although the Sources of Strength program did not meet
its target for perceived risk of marijuana use, there was a small increase in perceived risk (1.3
percentage points) between 2017-18 and 2018-19.
1 Trends in Adolescent Substance Use and Perception of Risk from Substance Use, SAMHSA, 2013:
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH099a/NSDUH099a/sr099a-risk-perception-trends.pdf
2 Comparisons in risk factor rates are observational and conclusions about statistical significance cannot be made.
Boulder Valley School District data is from the middle school 2017 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey:
https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/hkcs-results-bvsd-middle-school-2017.pdf
97%
Target: 90%
Think regular alcohol use is risky
85%
Target: 90%
Think it is wrong for someone
their age to use marijuana
BVSD: 79%
BVSD: 76%
15
Youth Protective Factors
Protective factors increase youth's likelihood of avoiding risky behaviors. They provide youth with
alternatives to risky behaviors and enhance social and emotional competence.3 Sources of
Strength and YMCA's Youth Prosocial activities work directly with youth to enhance protective
factors. The Sources of Strength protective factors measure school connectedness, which can
affect both health and learning. Students who feel connected to their school are less likely to
engage in alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.4
Sources of Strength participants met all three targets for youth protective
factors for the second year in a row.
S
Participants in YMCA Prosocial events also met the program's target for youth
resiliency for the second year in a row.5
3 Adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Adolescent and School Health definition
of protective factors: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/protective/index.htm
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Adolescent and School Health: Fostering School
Connectedness: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/protective/school_connectedness.htm
5 The YMCA Youth Prosocial Resiliency scale measures participants' outlooks and perceptions to assess
individual capacity to handle and overcome adverse events.
"This program has shown that teens
are looking for an outlet and can
still participate in innocent fun."
- Partner Staff Member
YMCA Prosocial Teen Night Out
77%
82%
89%
Feel welcome at school
Have an adult at school they trust
Have an adult at school
who listens to them
77%
Target: 75%
Target: 75%
Target: 60%
Report high levels of resilience
Target: 70%
a 22% increase
from last year
16
Youth-Adult Interactions
Youth connectedness and engagement with adults is an important protective factor. In 2017,
BVSD high schoolers who reported they could talk to a parent were less likely to have used
substances than their peers who couldn't talk to a parent.6 The EFFEKT, Speak Now, and Adult
Influencer programs aim to support parents and adults in building these important connections.
As a result of the Speak Now training, attendees know where to get resources
on talking to their children about substance use and they plan to change their
approach to discussing substance use based on information they learned.
6 Analysis of 2017 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey data by Boulder County Public Health:
https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/healthy-futures-coalition-presentation-june-13-2018.pdf
Fostering supportive communities in
Boulder middle schools
"While it may not be obvious on the
surface, there are people at our own
school who always feel left out, and [I
learned] how to make sure that these
people feel more connected."
"A lot of people feel isolated at school,
and no one should have to deal with
that."
-SOS Youth Participants Sources of Strength messaging on display at a City
of Boulder middle school.
Know where to go for more resources on
discussing substance use with their child
Plan to change their approach to discussing
substance use with their child
Target: 75%
Target: 75%
92%
97%
17
The majority of EFFEKT participants have established expectations with their
children around substance use. However, only a quarter of participants believe
they can influence their children’s substance use decisions.
These data demonstrate the need for EFFEKT and the opportunities the program has in future
years to increase parents' efficacy around influencing youth substance use.
This was the first year that EFFEKT
was implemented and thus the targets
were set without context from
previous program data on parents'
beliefs and behavior. Boulder Valley
School District is the first community
in the United States to implement
EFFEKT (a Swedish program) and has
identified ways to adapt the program
to best fit the local context.
Adjustments to program content and
targets will be made in future years to
optimize the impact of this program.
Believe underage alcohol use is wrong
Perceive they have influence on
underage marijuana use
Perceive they have influence on
underage alcohol use
Establish marijuana use expectations
for children at least once a year
Establish alcohol use expectations
for children at least once a year
Target: 90%
Target: 75%
Target: 75%
Target: 80%
Target: 80%
71%
26%
26%
82%
74%
EFFEKT training participants
18
Adult Influencer training participants report improvements in understanding
youth substance use behavior and the influence YMCA staff have as role
models and mentors.
Qualitative data provide a snapshot of how the Adult Influencer program is impacting interactions
between YMCA staff and the youth they serve.
I think it can be incredibly difficult to talk to kids about substance use, but
I also don’t think it needs to be the entire topic of conversation. In my
experience, kids seek substances to fit in and feel less alone. When we
build connections with these teens and we set the example of how to be a
role model, we are showing them fulfillment is possible without substances.
The influencer training was a good reminder about the impact we have on
youth. It has helped me be a little more conscious of the way I and our staff
present ourselves in front of the kids. It's not that my demeanor or attitude
around the kids was inappropriate before, but it's helpful to be conscious
of the little things and how kids observe them/how it can rub off on them.
“
”
“
”
Building adult-youth relationships
"I always have someone to turn
to when I need it."
-SOS Youth Participant
19
Goal 3: Reduce Youth Substance Use
The third goal of the SEA Fund is to prevent/reduce youth use of alcohol and recreational drugs,
including marijuana. The evaluation draws on substance use data that is monitored at the national,
state, and local levels to track and compare rates of youth substance use. Although the SEA Fund
evaluation design does not allow for an assessment of the direct impact of SEA partner programs
on substance use outcomes, tracking substance use data across Boulder Valley School District
contextualizes the SEA Fund within the broader landscape of the county. These data demonstrate
both the need for prevention programs as well as potential changes in youth substance use that
may be the result of SEA and other programs designed to address this issue.
Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) data and its national equivalent (the Youth Risk Behavioral
Surveillance System) are compared at the national, state, and school district level here. In
subsequent years of the report, data from more recent administrations of HKCS and the Youth
Risk Behavioral Surveillance System will be available, and change can be monitored over time.
In 2017, one in three Boulder Valley School District high schoolers reported
drinking alcohol and more than 20% reported using marijuana in the past 30
days.7
In 2017, Colorado Health Statistics Region 16, which includes Boulder and Broomfield Counties,
had the third-highest rate of high schooler alcohol use among all 21 Colorado regions. The rate of
current high schooler marijuana use in Region 16 was fourth highest among all regions the same
year.
7 Differences in substance use rates are observational and statistically significant conclusions cannot be
made. BVSD data: https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/2017-hkcs.pdf
Colorado data: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/healthy-kids-colorado-survey-data.
National data: https://nccd.cdc.gov/Youthonline/App/Default.aspx
30%
29%
35%
20%
19%
22%Boulder
Valley SD
Colorado
Percentage Who Drank
Alcohol in the Past 30 Days
Percentage Who Used
Marijuana in the Past 30 Days
United
States
20
Goal 4: Reduce Accidental Ingestion
The fourth goal of the SEA Fund is to reduce accidental ingestion of marijuana and other drugs.
One SEA program, the Out of Reach campaign, addressed risk of accidental ingestion for children
in the county. The other SEA Fund programs are focused on addressing intentional use of
substances among youth and adolescents.
Accidental ingestion of medications, alcohol, and marijuana is dangerous,
especially for young children.
In the United States:
In Colorado:
95% of medication-related emergency room
visits among children under age 5 are due to
a child ingesting medication while
unsupervised.8
56 children ages 14 and under die each year
from unintentional medication overdoses.8
More than 1,200 young children are brought to
the emergency room each year because they
ingested marijuana, medicines, and alcohol that
were left within reach.9
Over 70% of emergency room visits for young
children are due to ingesting pharmaceutical
drugs (including over-the-counter drugs).9
The Out of Reach Campaign was aimed at preventing young children from
accidentally ingesting substances.
The Out of Reach campaign, funded by SEA and Boulder County Public Health, encouraged
parents of children ages 0 to 6 years to keep marijuana, prescription drugs, and alcohol out of
reach of young children to prevent accidental ingestion and overdose. This year’s campaign
featured bus ads, billboards, radio spots, information cards, and a website in English and Spanish.
The campaign achieved 2,448,707 impressions across Boulder
County and generated 2,001 visitors to the campaign website.
This was the last year of the Out of Reach campaign. Since its inception, awareness of the dangers
of accidental ingestion has grown and there have been changes in legislation to prevent accidental
ingestion, including a universal labeling system that identifies marijuana products and child-
resistant packaging requirements for some edible marijuana products.
Data on emergency room visits among children 0-6 years old in Boulder County support the
decision to refocus substance prevention resources to other areas. From 2014 to 2018, there
were no cases of children 0-6 visiting the emergency room in Boulder County due to cannabis
poisoning except in 2016. That year, at least one but fewer than ten ER visits were recorded.10
8 Safe Kids Worldwide: https://www.safekids.org/sites/default/files/medicine-safety-study-2012.pdf
9 ED visits for accidental poisoning among Colorado residents younger than 6 years, treated and released
from January 2014 – September 2015: https://www.bouldercounty.org/families/addiction/out-of-reach
10 Colorado Health Observation Regional Data Service (CHORDS), 2014-2018. In 2016, at least one visit
was reported. The number of visits that year was less than ten and the exact number is suppressed due to
privacy concerns.
21
SEA Fund Impact and Challenges
In Years 1 and 3 of the SEA Fund, OMNI administered a survey to assess SEA partners'
impressions of the effects of SEA funding. The following sections highlight the survey findings on
the impact of SEA funding on staff and programs and their challenges with program
implementation.
SEA Partner Impact
SEA partners reported two primary impacts of engaging in this initiative: organizational
improvements and community connections.
Organizational Improvements
Within organizational improvements, SEA partner staff noted two areas of improvement. The first
area of improvement reported was technical skills and evaluation capacity. Five of seven partners
reported an improvement in their program evaluation skills as a result of involvement in the SEA
Fund.
The second area of improvement was capacity around
substance use prevention programming. Six of seven
parnters reported that the SEA Fund has increased their
substance use prevention knowledge and that SEA
engagement has informed how their program delivers
substance use prevention programming. As a result,
partners report high efficacy in the SEA Fund and its
potential impact on the community. The majority of
partners believe that their staff feel a sense of
responsibility towards prevention of youth substance use
and that the collective efforts of SEA can reduce youth
use of alcohol and other drugs.
Partner Impact
Community
Connections
Organizational
Improvements
Prevention
Programming
Technical Skills
& Evaluation Collaboration Engagement
SEA partner staff
report that being a
member of the SEA
Program has increased
their substance use
prevention knowledge.
22
Community Connections
SEA partner staff discussed the impact of the SEA Fund
on their communities, noting an increase in collaboration
across SEA partners as well as the curation of greater
community engagement.
Increased collaboration is possible due to the connections
to other organizations and community members the SEA
Fund has facilitated. Partners also noted the ease of
bridging these connections as a result of SEA and the
benefits of cross-organization collaborations.
Multiple partners noted an increase in community
engagement within their programs. Most commonly
noted was the increased engagement of parents in the
programs as well as parents’ satisfaction with the
programs. One partner wrote that "[parents] are grateful
that this program is available to the teens and [they] have
nothing but great things to say about it."
SEA Fund Challenges
While the majority of feedback from the SEA partner survey was positive, partners also reported
some challenges in engaging with and implementing SEA Fund activities. These challenges reflect
prior years’ feedback and predominantly relate to program funding and logistics.
Funding and Sustainability
The City of Boulder has provided funding for the SEA Fund on a year-to-year basis. Because of
uncertainty around long-term sustainability, partners have found it difficult to maintain
consistency in programming and engage in long-term strategy development. In addition, partners
have not been able to respond to changing needs in their community because they are only
getting funding for the originally planned programs to continue each year. As the SEA Fund
continues to stabilize and mature, the City of Boulder may be able to consider adjustments to the
funding model and timelines to address these challenges.
SEA Fund Connections
While SEA Fund connections were noted as a strength of the program, they also came up as a
challenge. Partners are implementing diverse programs, which can strain connections and
collaboration. One result of this is connection and engagement among the group are not always
seamless. Although the quarterly SEA partner meetings provide an opportunity for collaboration,
partners infrequently collaborate with each other or share information outside of the meetings.
Additionally, because partners work in different sectors (education, youth recreation, public health,
etc.), there is sometimes a language barrier among partner staff and the SEA Fund management
team, especially around evaluation terms which are rooted in public health terminology and
metrics (for example, "perceptions of risk" of substance use).
"I have really benefited from
the easy access to support
from OMNI, Boulder County
Public Health and other like-
minded entities. Being
constantly connected, we
are able to share items,
events, ideas, suggestions,
etc. to better serve our
community."
"More groups have come
together to collaborate and
coordinate on improving and
increasing substance [use]
education programming
across many disciplines."
- SEA Partner Staff Members
23
What's Next for the SEA Fund?
As the SEA Fund enters the fourth year of the evaluation, the City of Boulder and OMNI have
planned several changes to the program and evaluation.
Expansion of the Evaluation
OMNI has worked to expand and revise the evaluation for Year 4 to more directly examine SEA
Fund impact. Specifically, OMNI and Boulder County Community Services worked closely with
each SEA partner to enhance evaluation capacity and create detailed logic models and evaluation
plans for their programs that connect their programming and data to the SEA Fund goals. This
included a review and adjustment of existing partner program metrics in summer 2019.
In addition, OMNI established common evaluation measures that all partners will implement,
allowing for standardized data across all programs in the 2019-20 program year. The common
measures are aligned with the SEA Fund goals and the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, which will
serve as a benchmark for the SEA Fund data. These measures are designed to collect
comprehensive data from each of the audiences engaged in SEA programming (youth, parents, and
adults who work with youth) on the following topics:
• Whether parents and trusted adults set clear expectations with youth about alcohol and
marijuana use;
• Whether parents and trusted adults have an influence on youth decisions to use alcohol
and marijuana;
• Adult and youth perceived risk of youth alcohol and marijuana use; and
• Whether youth have trusted adults available in their lives.
For each topic, there is a common measure question for each of the target audiences. These three
sets of questions mirror each other with slight adjustments to the language or phrasing depending
on the audience. For example, when asking about influence on youth alcohol use, parents are
asked how much influence they think they have on their child's decision to use alcohol, while
youth are asked how much influence the adults in their life have on their decision to use alcohol.
Full versions of each question set are available in the appendix.
The City of Boulder also intends to work with Boulder County Community Services, OMNI, and
SEA Fund partners to incorporate an equity lens into program evaluations and technical assistance,
to help all partners understand systemic inequities and help meet the needs of all Boulder
community members.
Continuation of the SEA Dashboard
The City of Boulder maintains a public dashboard with all data from the SEA Fund. SEA partners
submit data quarterly and the City updates the data in real time. The expanded evaluation metrics
that were added for Year 4 will be included in the dashboard. The dashboard allows for ongoing
monitoring of SEA Fund progress throughout the program year, as well as visibility of program
impact.
24
Addition of New Partner Programs
The Responsible Association of Retailers (RAR) joined the SEA Fund as a partner midway through
the 2018-19 program year. RAR's first full year of SEA programming and evaluation is the 2019-
20 program year. In addition, the City of Boulder is funding two new SEA partners in the 2019-20
year:
1. Boulder County Public Health to implement a peer support program and peer -led media
campaign to reduce youth vaping; and
2. Boulder Community Health to provide education for community members as well as
medical and dental providers about opioid and poly-substance abuse.
These additions to the SEA Fund expand the portfolio of substance prevention programs to
include prevention of vaping and opioid misuse.
25
Appendix
Common Measure Questions
Questions for Parents
1. I set clear expectations for my student
about not using alcohol:
o Never
o Less than once a year
o Once a year
o More than once a year
2. I set clear expectations for my student
about not using marijuana:
o Never
o Less than once a year
o Once a year
o More than once a year
3. How much influence, if at all, do you think
you have over your children’s decision
whether or not to use alcohol?
o No influence
o Very little influence
o Some influence
o Great influence
4. How much influence, if at all, do you think
you have over your children’s decision
whether or not to use marijuana?
o No influence
o Very little influence
o Some influence
o Great influence
5. How much do you think youth risk
harming themselves (physically or in other
ways) if they have one or two drinks of
alcohol nearly every day)?
o No Risk
o Slight Risk
o Moderate Risk
o Great Risk
6. How much do you think youth risk
harming themselves (physically or in other
ways) if they use marijuana regularly?
o No Risk
o Slight Risk
o Moderate Risk
o Great Risk
Questions for Adults Working with Youth
1. I set clear expectations for the youth I
work with about not using alcohol:
o Never
o Less than once a year
o Once a year
o More than once a year
2. I set clear expectations for the youth I
work with about not using marijuana:
o Never
o Less than once a year
o Once a year
o More than once a year
3. How much influence, if at all, do you think
you have over the decisions of the youth you
work with around whether or not to use
alcohol?
o No influence
o Very little influence
o Some influence
o Great influence
26
4. How much influence, if at all, do you think
you have over the decisions of the youth you
work with around whether or not to use
marijuana?
o No influence
o Very little influence
o Some influence
o Great influence
5. How much do you think youth risk
harming themselves (physically or in other
ways) if they have one or two drinks of
alcohol nearly every day)?
o No Risk
o Slight Risk
o Moderate Risk
o Great Risk
6. How much do you think youth risk
harming themselves (physically or in other
ways) if they use marijuana regularly?
o No Risk
o Slight Risk
o Moderate Risk
o Great Risk
7. I have the skills and resources necessary to
establish myself as an adult that youth can
trust and talk to if they have a serious
problem.
o Strongly disagree
o Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly agree
Questions for Youth
1. My family and/or the adults in my life have
set clear rules about alcohol use:
o Strongly disagree
o Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly agree
2. My family and/or the adults in my life have
set clear rules about marijuana use:
o Strongly disagree
o Disagree
o Agree
o Strongly agree
3. How much influence do your family or the
adults in your life have on your decision
whether or not to use alcohol?
o No influence
o Very little influence
o Some influence
o Great influence
4. How much influence do your family or the
adults in your life have on your decision
whether or not to use marijuana?
o No influence
o Very little influence
o Some influence
o Great influence
5. How much do you think people risk
harming themselves (physically or in other
ways) if they have one or two drinks of
alcohol nearly every day)?
o No Risk
o Slight Risk
o Moderate Risk
o Great Risk
6. How much do you think people risk
harming themselves (physically or in other
ways) if they use marijuana regularly?
o No Risk
o Slight Risk
o Moderate Risk
o Great Risk
7. If you had a serious problem, do you know
an adult in or out of school whom you could
talk to or go to for help?
o Yes
o No
o Not sure
27
TARGET AUDIENCE: PARENTS
Safe Storage Campaign (BCPH CMU)
Media campaign for adults to reduce accidental ingestion
and unintended access to substances among children 0-6.
EFFEKT (BVSD)
Parent training on how they can positively influence their
children’s attitudes and behaviors.
Speak Now Campaign (BCCS)
Campaign and trainings for parents on talking to youth about
substance use and healthy behaviors.
CONTEXT
The City of Boulder
launched the SEA
Fund in 2016
The SEA Fund is a
community-wide
substance use
prevention initiative
for children, youth and
families.
Funding is used by
community agencies
(partners) to
implement the
strategies shown here.
STRATEGIES
Technical assistance and substance prevention
training for SEA partner staff. SHORT-TERM
Goal 1: Widespread
community distribution
and awareness of
information and
programs developed.
INTERMEDIATE
Goal 2: Shift community
perceptions of risk
associated with
substance use, including
the impact of drugs,
alcohol, recreational
marijuana, and abuse of
prescription medications
on children and youth.
LONG-TERM
Goal 3: Prevent/reduce
youth use of alcohol
and recreational drugs
including marijuana.
SEA FUND OVERARCHING
GOALS
STRATEGY-LEVEL
OUTCOMES
Increased knowledge of
substance use prevention
strategies.
Expansion of substance
prevention work.
Goal 4: Reduce
accidental ingestion of
marijuana and other
drugs.
BCCS – Boulder County
Community Services
BCPH – Boulder County
Public Health
BVSD – Boulder Valley
School District
CMU – Communications
and Marketing Unit
YMCA - YMCA of
Northern Colorado
TARGET AUDIENCE: YOUTH
Sources of Strength (BVSD)
A peer leader program to increase help seeking behaviors
and promote connections between peers and caring adults.
Youth Prosocial Activities (YMCA)
Substance-free Teen Nights Out and Days of Service to
build youth relationships and resiliency.
TARGET AUDIENCE: TRUSTED ADULTS
Sources of Strength (BVSD)
Adult leaders supporting students in promoting connections
between peers and caring adults.
Responsible Association of Retailers
Association and trainings for alcohol and cannabis retailers to
promote patron safety and limit youth access to substances.
Influencer Training (YMCA)
YMCA staff training on effective communication and
interaction with youth for positive impact on their lives.
Parents and trusted
adults set clear
expectations about
alcohol and marijuana
use with youth
Parents and trusted
adults have an influence
on youth decisions to
use alcohol and
marijuana
Adults and youth
perceive risk in youth
using alcohol and
marijuana.
Youth have trusted
adults available in their
lives.
SEA Fund Logic Model