Substance Education and Awareness Program Year 2 Evaluation Report
Boulder Substance
Education and Awareness
(SEA) Program
Year 2 Evaluation Report
Submitted to: Matt Sundeen, City of Boulder
December 2018
ii
Boulder Substance
Education and Awareness
(SEA) Program
Year 2 Evaluation Report
For more information, please contact:
Julia Simhai, MPH
jsimhai@omni.org
303-839-9422 ext. 137
Holen Hirsh, PhD
hhirsh@omni.org
303-839-9422 ext. 122
OMNI Institute
899 Logan Street, Suite 600
Denver, CO 80203
www.omni.org
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 4
The SEA Program ......................................................................................................................................... 4
Year 2 Results ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Future Evaluation Direction ...................................................................................................................... 5
The Substance Education and Awareness Program.................................................................................. 6
Evaluation Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Evaluation Goals and Questions ............................................................................................................... 7
Evaluation Activities ................................................................................................................................... 9
Evaluation Methods .................................................................................................................................... 9
Year 2 Results ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Progress toward SEA Goal 1: Widespread dissemination ................................................................ 13
Progress toward SEA Goal 2: Shift in perceptions of risk ................................................................ 14
Conclusions & Next Steps ............................................................................................................................ 15
Future Evaluation Activities ......................................................................................................................... 16
Appendix A. SEA Subcontractor Programs ............................................................................................... 18
Current Programs ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Former Programs ....................................................................................................................................... 21
Appendix B. SEA Logic Model ..................................................................................................................... 22
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Executive Summary
THE SEA PROGRAM
In June 2016, the City of Boulder launched the Substance Education and Awareness (SEA)
Program, which serves as a community-wide substance use prevention education initiative for
children, youth and families. SEA funding is used by community agencies (subcontractors) to
provide direct programming and to disseminate media campaigns designed to prevent youth
substance use. Full descriptions of each SEA-funded program can be found in Appendix A.
The combination of programming and messaging is designed to achieve the SEA Program goals
of:
1. Widespread community distribution and awareness of information and programs
developed;
2. Shift in community perceptions of risk associated with substance use, including the
impact of drugs, alcohol, recreational marijuana, and use of prescription medications on
children and youth;
3. Prevent/reduce youth use of alcohol and recreational drugs including marijuana; and
4. Reduce accidental ingestion of marijuana and other drugs.
The City of Boulder hired OMNI Institute (OMNI) to lead an evaluation of the SEA Program. The
first year of the evaluation focused on building evaluation infrastructure and establishing process
measures to track progress toward SEA Goal 1. In Year 2, outcome measures were added to the
evaluation to track progress toward SEA Goal 2. For each outcome subcontractors identified,
they set a target to achieve through their programming. The evaluation tracks individual
outcome results as well as collective progress toward outcome targets.
YEAR 2 RESULTS
In the first two years of the program, 2,238 adults and youth were served and participating
subcontractors met 75% of the targets set for their SEA Program outcome measures.
In the second year of SEA Program implementation, subcontractors successfully achieved wider
reach with their programming and messaging. In Year 1, the SEA Program made direct contact
Process Measures:
2,238
adults and youth served
Outcome Measures:
75%
of outcome targets met (6 of 8)
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with 350 people; in Year 2, this number grew substantially to 1,888 people.1 In addition, the SEA
Program has disseminated two messaging campaigns resulting in millions of media impressions.
Subcontractors also met six of the eight outcome targets set for Year 2, reflecting success in
impacting risk and protective factors among both adult and youth participants. Details on each
outcome measure and target can be found on page 14.
FUTURE EVALUATION DIRECTION
The remaining years of the SEA Program evaluation will focus on adding indicators and reporting
to address SEA Program Goals 3 and 4 (see above). This progression of evaluation activities is
aligned with the evaluation plan adopted in Year 1 and is appropriate for a five-year initiative
that aims to demonstrate impact on long-term community-level outcomes.
1 These numbers are not necessarily a count of unique individuals reached by the SEA Program. Individuals
who participated in a subcontractor program for more than one year or who participated in more than one
subcontractor program may be counted more than once.
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The Substance Education and
Awareness Program
In November 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)
Program, which serves as a community-wide substance use prevention education initiative,
including recreational marijuana education, for children, youth and families. Funding is used by
community agencies (subcontractors) to develop a consistent message for children, youth,
families and the City of Boulder community related to the impacts of drug and alcohol use on
children and youth. This messaging, along with prevention strategies, is designed to achieve the
SEA Program goals of:
1. Widespread community distribution and awareness of information and programs
developed;
2. Shift in community perceptions of risk associated with substance use, including the
impact of drugs, alcohol, recreational marijuana, and use of prescription medications on
children and youth;
3. Prevent/reduce youth use of alcohol and recreational drugs including marijuana; and
4. Reduce accidental ingestion of marijuana and other drugs.
The SEA Program funds subcontractors to implement prevention activities that fall into four
prevention strategies, as defined by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). The City of Boulder
sought to subcontract with agencies within the City implementing evidence-based programs or
programs which are promising practices for impacting awareness, perceptions of risk, and
prevention of substance use. Full descriptions of the CSAP strategy classifications and each SEA-
funded program can be found in Appendix A.
In November 2016, the City of Boulder hired OMNI Institute (OMNI) to lead an evaluation of the
SEA Program. OMNI is a non-profit, social science agency that provides evaluation research,
capacity building, and data utilization services. In December 2016, OMNI began working in
partnership with the City of Boulder and key project stakeholders from Boulder County Public
Health and Boulder County Community Services Department to develop the structure and
design of the evaluation.
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This report includes data and activities from Year 2 of the SEA evaluation (June 2017 – May
2018), during which the SEA Program funded the following subcontractors and services,
organized by SAMHSA CSAP strategy.
Evaluation Overview
The evaluation approach, developed by OMNI in conjunction with the City of Boulder and
Boulder County stakeholders in 2017, is collaborative and participatory.
EVALUATION GOALS AND QUESTIONS
The overarching goal of the ongoing evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of individual and
joint efforts of funded subcontractors in addressing the SEA Program goals established by the
City of Boulder. To do this, OMNI defined process and outcome evaluation questions designed
to focus the evaluation on the overarching goals. Process evaluation questions center on how
the implementation of funded strategies was carried out. Outcome evaluation questions center
on measuring the effectiveness of the SEA Program in changing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors
related to substance use.
The evaluation design is formative; that is, evaluation methods are designed to inform program
improvements throughout the implementation process rather than waiting until the program
ends to assess effectiveness. Thus, in addition to gathering data on the impact of the SEA
Program on its intended goals, the evaluation documents successes and barriers to
Information Dissemination
•Boulder County Public Health: Safe Storage Campaign
•Boulder County Community Services: Speak Now Campaign
•Boulder Valley School District: EFFEKT
Education
•Boulder Valley School District: Sources of Strength
•YMCA: Influencer Training
Alternative Activities
•YMCA: Prosocial Activities
Community-Based Processes
•Boulder County Community Services: TA & SAPST Training
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implementation to provide a contextualized understanding of the findings and to develop
feasible and effective recommendations to guide the program.
Following are the SEA Program goals and the corresponding evaluation questions that serve to
guide the evaluation.
SEA Goal 1: Widespread community distribution and awareness of information and programs
developed
Evaluation Questions:
•How many youth received direct services funded by the SEA Program?
•How many youth were exposed to the community-wide messaging implemented for this
grant?
•How many adults were exposed to the community-wide messaging implemented for this
grant?
SEA Goal 2: Shift in community perceptions of risk associated with substance use, including
the impact of drugs, alcohol, recreational marijuana, and use of prescription medications on
children and youth
Evaluation Questions:
•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?
SEA Goal 3: Prevent/reduce youth use of alcohol and recreational drugs including marijuana
Evaluation Questions:
•What evidence is there that SEA strategies resulted in lower rates of youth substance use
or related consequences?
•What evidence is there of the community impact of SEA strategies?
SEA Goal 4: Reduce accidental ingestion of marijuana and other drugs
Evaluation Questions:
•What evidence is there that SEA strategies resulted in lower rates of accidental ingestion
of marijuana and other drugs among youth 0-9 years old?
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EVALUATION ACTIVITIES
During Year 1 of the evaluation, OMNI established the evaluation structure and produced the
first annual report covering the period from June 2016 – May 2017. OMNI’s evaluation activities
in Year 2 were guided by the evaluation infrastructure established in Year 1. The focus for Year 2
evaluation activities (June 2017 – May 2018) was defining outcome measures to quantify the
progress subcontractors are making toward SEA Goal 2 (shift in community perceptions of risk
associated with substance use).
To this end, during this year of the evaluation, evaluation activities included:
• Updating the SEA Program logic model to ensure changes in programming and outcomes
were reflected in this guiding document;
• Revisiting existing process measures to capture new subcontractors or program aspects
and further describe progress toward SEA Program Goal 1;
• Identifying outcome measures and corresponding targets for subcontractor programs, as
applicable; and
• Expanding the data collection and display dashboard to include outcome measures that
describe progress toward SEA Program Goal 2.
EVALUATION METHODS
Data presented in this report were obtained from multiple sources and evaluation methods. With
a focus on participatory and formative evaluation techniques involving stakeholders throughout
the process, the evaluation employed a multiple-case, non-comparative design. The specific
methods are outlined below.
REFINEMENT OF OUTCOME EVALUATION DESIGN
▪ Discussion of outcome measure options with subcontractors. Evaluators assessed feasibility
for collecting common SEA Program outcome measures across subcontractors through one-
on-one conversations with subcontractor staff. At this time, common outcome measures
across subcontractors have not been implemented. Challenges to implementing common
SEA Program Process Evaluation Questions
•What successes did subcontractors achieve during implementation of SEA strategies?
•What challenges did subcontractors face during implementation of SEA strategies?
•What did effective partnerships among subcontractors look like? What was gained?
•What was learned by working in partnership? Were there challenges to establishing
effective partnerships among subcontractors?
•What does subcontractor program data suggest about SEA Program effectiveness?
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outcome measures that were identified through conversations with subcontractors include:
lack of overlap in subcontractor programming content; disparate target populations for
programming (adults, high schoolers, middle schoolers); and difficulty with survey measure
approval at some organizations (e.g., YMCA, Boulder Valley School District).
▪ Development of outcome measure strategy. Evaluators proposed to the City a structure for
subcontractor outcomes data collection allowing for subcontractors to collect unique
program outcomes that are related to the overarching SEA program goals. For each outcome
subcontractors identified, they set a target to achieve through their programming. The
evaluation tracks individual outcome results as well as collective progress toward outcome
targets. This strategy allows for subcontractors who provide diverse programming to
measure outcomes that are relevant to both their individual programs and the SEA program
goals. Through discussions with City staff, the strategy was finalized and disseminated to
subcontractors.
ALIGNMENT OF SUBCONTRACTOR OUTCOMES WITH EVALUATION
PLAN
▪ Development of outcome metrics and targets. Evaluators consulted individually with each
subcontractor to assist with reviewing outcome tools and selecting metrics to report that
were relevant to their unique programs and the overarching SEA Program outcomes.
Evaluators also worked with subcontractors to establish targets for each of their outcomes.
Three subcontractors were able to set outcome targets and began collecting outcome data in
Year 2; the others have started defining outcome measures in preparation for collecting
outcome data in Year 3.
▪ Streamlining of subcontractor outcomes and contract performance targets. Evaluators
collaborated with the technical assistance lead and fiscal agent at Boulder County
Community Services Department to align the outcome measures defined for the evaluation
with the performance targets written into subcontractor contracts. This alignment was
designed to ease reporting burden for subcontractors and facilitate higher quality data
collection.
▪ Update to the SEA Program logic model. Evaluators updated the logic model, originally
drafted in Year 1 of the evaluation, to reflect subcontractor outcome measures. A copy of
the logic model can be found in the appendix on page 22.
EVALUATION OF SEA PROGRAM PERFORMANCE
▪ Revision of SEA Program reporting structure. In response to the City’s reporting needs, the
evaluation team revised the structure of SEA evaluation deliverables to be organized by SEA
Program goals, rather than by CSAP strategies or individual subcontractor. These changes are
reflected in this report and on the homepage of the data dashboard.
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▪ Implementation of Phase II of data dashboard. After finalizing outcome measures with each
subcontractor, evaluators launched Phase II of the data dashboard, including expansion to
collect subcontractor outcome data in addition to the existing process data. 2
▪ Synthesis of process measures. Because this was the second year in which process measures
were collected for most subcontractor programs, subcontractors were able to track data
more comprehensively than in Year 1. Evaluators systematically reviewed and reported on
subcontractor process indicators (e.g., numbers served and population demographics). The
data dashboard homepage was also updated to display cumulative process data across
evaluation years and subcontractors.
▪ Synthesis of outcome measures. Outcome measures were established after programming
was started for this year, so some subcontractors were not able to collect the outcome data
that they will be reporting in future years. For all subcontractors who did collect outcome
data this year, these data established a baseline that will provide context and comparison for
future years’ outcome data. Evaluators compiled subcontractor-reported outcome data to
determine the percentage of outcome measure targets met and document progress toward
SEA Program goals. The data dashboard homepage was also updated to display the
percentage of targets met across all subcontractors in Year 2.
2 In addition to expanding the dashboard to collect outcome data, a separate effort was initiated to add
data collection and reporting for the Speak Now campaign to the dashboard. The Speak Now campaign
was not captured in the dashboard in Year 1 but has been included in the dashboard and this report for
Year 2.
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Year 2 Results
Process and outcome data for Year 2 of the SEA program are included in this section of the
report. Data included in this section are cumulative from the first two reporting years of the SEA
Program. Through Year 2, process and outcome measures can be summarized as follows:
Figure 1. Distribution of Adults and Youth Served by Subcontractor Program
Selected findings from each of the subcontractor programs are organized by SEA Program goals
below. Additional data for each program are available on the SEA data dashboard
(https://bouldercolorado.gov/human-services/substance-education), including a breakdown by
reporting year.
1%
4%
9%
11%
14%
61%
Break the Cycle
Teen Outreach Program
Youth Prosocial Activities
Sources of Strength
Adult Influencer Training
Safe Storage Campaign
Process Measures:
2,238
adults and youth served
Outcome Measures:
75%
of outcome targets met (6 of 8)
The majority of adults and youth served by the SEA Program have been reached through
the Safe Storage media campaign.
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PROGRESS TOWARD SEA GOAL 1:
WIDESPREAD DISSEMINATION
The SEA Program has taken a comprehensive approach to dissemination of programming and
messaging. Achieving widespread dissemination is a critical first step and short-term outcome
that serves as a stepping stone to achieving the desired impacts that are part of SEA Goal 2.
Direct Youth Programming
239 peer leaders across five middle schools in the City were trained by Sources of
Strength program staff
207 teens participated in youth prosocial activities including Teen Night Out and
Day of Service events
Community Messaging
3,862,532
impressions generated by the dissemination of the Safe Storage campaign
1,371 visitors went to the Safe Storage campaign website
30,000 parents received Safe Storage campaign materials through the Boulder Valley
School District Thrive newsletter
7,242,288
impressions generated by the dissemination of the Speak Now campaign
25% click-
through rate
achieved from Speak Now campaign online ads (more than three times
the average click-through rate for similar campaigns)
> 2,900 middle
schoolers
received schoolwide messaging campaigns created by peer leaders in
the Sources of Strength program (reaching all City of Boulder middle
schoolers)
Community Capacity Building
371 adults
completed the Influencer Training facilitated by the YMCA (These
adults serve thousands of youth each year as coaches, counselors, and
program staff at the YMCA and other local organizations.)
8 subcontractor
staff members
completed the Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training (SAPST),
which has grounded SEA Program efforts in evidence-based substance
use prevention science
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PROGRESS TOWARD SEA GOAL 2:
SHIFT IN PERCEPTIONS OF RISK
Effective substance use prevention efforts both decrease risk factors for substance use and
enhance protective factors that buffer against substance use and facilitate healthy youth
development. Subcontractor programs are addressing the risk and protective factors identified
below. All outcome measures are collected via self-report surveys from recipients of a direct
service SEA Program in Year 2. All youth measures are collected at the end of programming and
thus reflect post-program results. Results from adults in the Influencer Training program are
reflective of changes from pre- to post-test (before training vs. after training). Subcontractors set
targets for each of these outcomes in Year 2, which are indicated by the dark gray bars below.
Youth Perceptions of Risk
Among peer leaders in the Sources of Strength program:
Youth Protective Factors
Among participants in youth prosocial activities:
Among peer leaders in the Sources of Strength program:
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Adult-Youth Interactions
Among adult participants in the Influencer Training program:
Conclusions & Next Steps
In the second year of SEA Program implementation, subcontractors successfully achieved wider
reach with their programming and messaging. In Year 1, the SEA Program made direct contact
with 350 people; in Year 2, this number grew substantially to 1,888 people. In addition, the SEA
Program has disseminated two messaging campaigns resulting in millions of media impressions.
Subcontractors also met six of the eight outcome targets set for Year 2, reflecting success in
impacting risk and protective factors among both adult and youth participants.
In addition to the implementation successes, there were also substantial gains in the evaluation
infrastructure in Year 2, as well as subcontractors’ evaluation capacity. All seven active
subcontractor programs collected process data, facilitating a more comprehensive analysis of the
reach of the SEA Program and its progress toward achieving SEA Goal 1. The framework for
outcome reporting was also successfully defined and operationalized. This framework allows for
flexibility and customization of outcome measures for each subcontractor program, while also
allowing the evaluation to look across subcontractors for a snapshot of progress toward
outcome targets. Three subcontractors set outcome targets and began collecting outcome data
in Year 2; the others have started defining outcome measures in preparation for collecting these
data in Year 3.
SEA Program successes occurred despite the fact that two subcontractor programs were
discontinued (El Centro Amistad’s Teen Outreach Program and Boulder County Public Health’s
Break the Cycle program) and that there was significant staff turnover among several
subcontractor organizations during this year. This turnover presented challenges for both
implementation and evaluation, and, as a result, it remains necessary to continue building and
maintaining evaluation capacity among subcontractors. This is essential for comprehensive
collection of SEA Program measures, evaluation of impact, and sharing of data with key
stakeholders.
Over the first two years of the SEA Program evaluation, OMNI has built evaluation and reporting
infrastructure, raised subcontractor evaluation capacity, and established a solid evidence base to
demonstrate progress toward SEA Goals 1 and 2. The remaining years of the SEA Program
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evaluation will focus on adding indicators and reporting to address the other two SEA goals. This
progression of evaluation activities is aligned with the evaluation plan adopted in Year 1 and is
appropriate for a five-year initiative that aims to demonstrate impact on long-term community-
level outcomes. The following section provides further detail on future evaluation activities that
will support this progression toward demonstrating long-term impact.
Future Evaluation Activities
As the evaluation moves into its third year, the focus will shift toward data collection to
document progress toward SEA Goals 3 and 4 (reducing youth substance use and reducing
accidental ingestion of substances). Data will complement the subcontractors’ established
process and outcome measures, which will remain an integral part of the evaluation. The
following evaluation activities are recommended for future years of the SEA Program.
Evaluation Capacity Building: OMNI will collaborate with the City to implement training and/or
technical assistance services for subcontractors to enhance evaluation capacity across all SEA
Program sites. These efforts will enable higher quality data collection among subcontractors, as
well as facilitate future opportunities for collecting common outcomes across subcontractors.
Process and Outcome Measures: OMNI will continue working with subcontractors to refine the
process and outcome measures for each of their programs. Due to staggered implementation
timelines, some subcontractors have not yet defined their outcome measures and targets, so
OMNI will work with those subcontractors to select appropriate tools and measures. OMNI will
also work with subcontractors to establish common outcome measures to be implemented
across all applicable subcontractor programs. OMNI will provide technical assistance to
subcontractors to address previously-identified barriers to implementing subcontractor
outcomes in an effort to have common outcomes in place for Year 4 of the evaluation.
Community-Level Measures: In Year 1 of the evaluation, OMNI had initial conversations with
several community agencies to assess feasibility for collecting city level indicators that could be
published on the public-facing SEA dashboard. In Year 3, the evaluation aims to gather, analyze
and aggregate available community-level data (e.g., police data, municipal court data, accidental
ingestion data, parent survey data, etc.) for display on the SEA data dashboard.
Data Dashboard: The SEA data dashboard will be updated to remain current with the evaluation.
The City of Boulder may begin hosting and maintaining the dashboard in-house.
Subcontractor Survey: As in Year 1 of the program, OMNI plans to administer a survey to
subcontractors in Year 3 to continue to assess subcontractor collaboration, the dissemination of
the SEA message, and successes and challenges with implementation of SEA Program strategies.
The evaluation will include a review of how subcontractor responses have shifted from Year 1 to
Year 3.
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Evaluation Reporting: Deliverables for Year 3 of the SEA Program evaluation will be redesigned
to more effectively demonstrate the impact of the SEA Program on its stated goals. Best
practices in data utilization and visualization will be employed to strategically frame evaluation
findings for SEA Program stakeholders.
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Appendix A. SEA Subcontractor
Programs3
CURRENT PROGRAMS
Information Dissemination
This strategy provides awareness and knowledge of the nature and extent of substance use and
addiction, and their effects on individuals, families and communities as well as available
prevention programs and services. Information dissemination is characterized by one-way
communication from the source to the audience with limited contact between the two.
BOULDER COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH: SAFE STORAGE CAMPAIGN
The Boulder County Public Health Communication and Marketing team provides strategic
communication guidance and solutions in partnership with Boulder County Public Health (BCPH)
programs and partners to encourage behavior and policy change that inspires a healthy, engaged
community. The team researches, designs, develops and implements relevant and culturally
competent marketing campaigns using social marketing best practices, media relations, and
traditional, digital, and social media channels. With the support of SEA Program funding, the Safe
Storage media and educational campaign for adults and retailers is designed to reduce accidental
ingestion of 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: SPEAK NOW CAMPAIGN
The Speak Now shared messaging campaign is being distributed by Boulder County Community
Services Department (CSD), in collaboration with the Office of Behavioral Health and “Speak
Now Colorado.” Using SEA funds, the Speak Now Colorado message is proliferated in the City of
Boulder. CSD provides 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.
3 Descriptions of each SEA subcontractor program contained in this section were drawn from text on
program websites, in program material, and/or were provided to OMNI by subcontractor contacts.
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BOULDER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT: EFFEKT
The Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) Office of Student Support provides support within the
school district to promote coordination among the many efforts that contribute to student and
staff health. SEA Program funding supports EFFEKT, a program that seeks to prevent adolescent
alcohol use by giving parents the tools to reinforce clear expectations and attitudes towards
young people's use of alcohol.
The EFFEKT program consists of three components:
• Encouraging parents to make preventing alcohol use by their children a priority
• Reinforcing to parents that they have a strong influence on their children's attitudes and
behaviors
• Giving parents 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. Families
are also regularly provided lists of organized activities taking place in the community that offer
adolescents constructive, sober ways to spend their time.
Education
This strategy involves two-way communication and is distinguished from merely disseminating
information by the fact that it is based on an interaction between the educator and the
participants. Activities under this strategy aim to affect critical life and social skills, including
decision-making, refusal skills and critical analysis (e.g., of media messages).
BOULDER VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT: SOURCES OF STRENGTH
The BVSD Office of Student Support provides support within the school district to promote
coordination among the many efforts that contribute to student and staff health. SEA Program
funding supports the evidence-based prevention program, Sources of Strength (SOS). 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 multiple sources of support
(protective factors) around young individuals so that when times get hard they have strengths to
rely on. Sources of Strength is being implemented in five BVSD middle schools:
• Centennial Middle School
• Casey Middle School
• Manhattan Middle School for Arts and Academics
• Nevin Platt Middle School
• Southern Hills Middle School
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YMCA: INFLUENCER TRAINING
The YMCA Boulder Valley Influencer Program is designed to educate adults who work and
interact with youth on how to become an "ask-able" or "safe" 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. Specifically, the training focuses on topics including substance use,
bullying, and parental disputes, and teaches adults to comfortably manage conversations with
youth.
Alternative Activities
This strategy provides the opportunity to participate in healthy, positive, and constructive
activities that exclude substance use. These activities are assumed to offset the attraction to,
and/or meet the needs filled by, alcohol and drugs, thereby reducing the likelihood of substance
use.
YMCA: PROSOCIAL ACTIVITIES
The YMCA Boulder Valley Pro-Social Activities Program was created to provide teens with a
space for healthy activities as well as the development of leadership skills with adult mentors.
The program includes Teen Night Out which is designed to give teens a safe environment in
which they can grow and thrive, as an alternative to interacting over cell phones, screens, or
engaging in unsafe activities. Teen Night Out includes team-building, ropes courses, game nights
and more. It also provides the opportunity for teens to volunteer for Days of Service. Days of
Service give teens the chance to become leaders and experience the inspiring feeling of helping
others, as well as instill the ideals of volunteerism as teens grow into young adults.
Community-Based Processes
This strategy aims to enhance the ability of the community to more effectively provide
prevention and treatment services for alcohol and drug use disorders. Activities in this strategy
include organizing, planning, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of service
implementation, building coalitions and networking.
BOULDER COUNTY COMMUNITY SERVICES: TA & SAPST TRAINING
The Boulder County Community Services Department (CSD) provides services that enhance
quality of life, support and protect our county’s diverse community of adults, children, families
and elders. As a division of Community Services, the Healthy Youth Alliance provides tools and
resources for parents and caregivers that support healthy decision making in youth and families.
With the support of SEA funding, the Healthy Youth Alliance provides technical support for
grantees, assists with project coordination, reinforces consistent messaging across community
partners, and offers education and training opportunities for SEA subcontractors. These efforts
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aim to shift community perceptions of risk associated with youth substance use and prevent
youth use of alcohol and recreational drugs and reduce accidental ingestion of marijuana and
other drugs.
FORMER PROGRAMS
Education
EL CENTRO AMISTAD: TEEN OUTREACH PROGRAM
El Centro Amistad's mission is to integrate and transform the Boulder County community
through opportunities and programs for Latinos that promote education, health, and quality of
life. SEA Program funding supported implementation of the Teen Outreach Program (TOP) for
Latino boys in Boulder. TOP is an evidence-based program that empowers teens with the tools
and opportunities needed to build a foundation of healthy behaviors, life skills and a sense of
purpose, and avoid risky behaviors that can derail success. Teen Outreach Program left the SEA
Program in January 2018.
BOULDER COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH: BREAK THE CYCLE
SEA Program funding supported Break the Cycle (BTC), an evidence-based intervention designed
to prevent initiation of injection drug use in young adults. BTC is based on a peer model where
young adults (24 years and under) participate in group and individual sessions surrounding
positive health behaviors. Trained counselors provide group and individual sessions to:
• Provide tools and skills to prevent the modeling of injection behavior to peers.
• Develop skills to deny request for initiating others to injection behavior.
• Provide space to empower young adults to support positive health behaviors.
Break the Cycle left the SEA Program in September 2017.
Alternative Activities
PHOENIX MULTISPORT
Phoenix Multisport (Phoenix) fosters a supportive, physically active community for individuals
who are recovering from a substance use disorder and those who choose to live sober. Through
pursuits such as climbing, hiking, running, strength training, yoga, road/mountain biking, socials
and other activities, Phoenix seeks to help members develop and maintain the emotional
strength they need to stay sober. Phoenix left the SEA Program in early 2017.
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Appendix B. SEA Logic Model