Rural Issues in Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Treatment

Rural Issues in Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Treatment
Technical Assistance Publication (TAP) Series 10

Building Community-Based Abuse Prevention Coalitions

Jim Meek
Co-Chair
Iowa State University Extension
Community Action for Abuse Prevention Program
Families Extension
Ames, Iowa

This paper is intended to provide an understanding of common terms and an assessment of the potential for community groups working in coalitions.

Introduction

Iowa State University Extension's (ISUE) Community Action For Abuse Prevention Program Committee has spent the past 2 years designing, developing, and delivering programs aimed at starting or strengthening community-based abuse prevention coalitions. The main focus of this effort is based on the premise that prevention education is the most effective long-term strategy to reduce abuse problems in rural communities. The committee further advocates the best use of limited human and financial resources in rural communities by suggesting that newly formed abuse coalitions develop prioritized strategies to address prevention of the most serious forms of abuse facing their local community.

According to The Future by Design, a publication of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1991), "The current literature does provide important documentation of the diversity and complexity of prevention practice. Generally accepted categorizations of distinct approaches to prevention have been developed, including educational, effective skills building, peer support, positive alternatives, training of impacts, and environmental change approaches."

The ISUE effort is designed to support the publication's description of a community empowerment system where responsibility is shared, power resides with the community, and the community provides the expertise. In this system, actions are planned based on community needs and priorities, leadership comes from within the community, cooperation and collaboration are emphasized, decisionmaking is inclusive, and the community is maximally involved at all levels.

Methodology

The methodology used in the committee action plan includes the following assumptions:

Awareness education at the community level is a primary concern for all collaborative abuse prevention efforts. . Needs assessment and strategy development at the local level lead to greater ownership of problems and the potential to create an abuse-free environment.
A better understanding of personal interaction and development, along with organizational development education, is needed to help collaborative efforts succeed.
A sound premise in adult education involves modeling others' successes; adults learn best from dialogue with peer group members.
Forming working partnerships is an effective tool for synergistic accomplishments. ISUE attempts to model partnering in its abuse program efforts.

The following section will describe the educational efforts developed and supported by ISUE in relation to these assumptions.

Awareness Education

ISUE has supported research-based awareness education in Iowa using the following print media:

A series of pamphlets, Understanding Abuse, which provide detailed information about the various forms of abuse. There are seventeen pamphlets in the series, each detailing a different topic.
A bimonthly newsletter for professionals, About Abuse, which addresses current research and practice issues related to abuse. Each issue is devoted to a particular area of abuse and provides current information about Iowa activities related to abuse prevention.
A resource directory which names, lists, and describes sources of educational support materials for conducting awareness programs at the community level.

These print resources are available in Iowa's 100 county extension offices, and are used by extension staff and coalition members in presentations to service clubs, church, and community groups, as well as in other presentations to raise awareness concerning the communities' abuse problems. The ISUE Abuse Program Committee has partnered with a community group to produce a video for use in community awareness education. The video features a youth drama troupe presenting a series of vignettes depicting abuse from the youth perspective. One segment portrays the relationship between an alcoholic mother and her son. The story relates how the deteriorating relationship leads to the boy's injury and separation from his mother. After rehabilitative treatment and counseling, the mother finds a job and asks to see her son. At first he rejects her wishes to make amends. Finally, after she assesses her new life by saying, "It's not much, is it?", he responds, "It's a start." The video, along with a program leader's guide, is available in two formats. One contains only the drama; the other includes an interview with the director which deals with troupe replication for other communities.

Needs Assessment and Strategy Development

Stakeholder (total community) involvement in abuse prevention efforts is enhanced through the use of broad needs assessment and strategy development techniques. These help to create a shared community vision of an abuse-free environment.

Personal and Organizational Development Education

The ISUE Abuse Program Committee partnered with other Iowa organizations interested in abuse prevention to develop and deliver two satellite workshops. The 1992 program was aimed at starting or strengthening community-based abuse coalitions.

The 1993 program focuses on marketing the products or services of community abuse coalitions. Emphasis is on needs assessment, action planning, product development and delivery, and evaluation. Each program includes individual study packets with worksheets designed to assist program participants to form basic coalitions.

The satellite workshops also include a locally facilitated, process-modeling workshop designed to allow discussion comparing participant experiences to those portrayed in the satellite delivered portion. Participants call in questions and comments to an expert panel for response. This methodology provides educationally sound interaction through electronic delivery. Iowa's Lt. Governor Joy Corning has been a presenter in both workshops and has inspired Iowans in their work to control abuse.

Adult Education (Peer Group Dialogue)

The ISUE Abuse Program Committee partnered with three other agencies to sponsor a conference entitled, "Family Secrets . . . Pass Them On?" The program was attended by over 150 Iowa professionals and individuals interested in the interactive workshops offered as part of the program. John Freel keynoted the conference. His speech helped participants to understand addictive relationships and how they contribute to abuse concerns.

Forming Working Partnerships

The ISUE Abuse Program Committee models its assertion that project synergy comes from collaborative partnering efforts. These partnering efforts are designed to develop and deliver many of the programs and activities supported by the committee.

Program Content
Much of the content of the program effort is described generally under the methods section. A sample of the print media program materials will be included here. The sample demonstrates the kind of help the committee provides to support collaborative efforts at the community level.

How To Build Coalitions—Collaboration
Much discussion must occur before partnering at the community level can take place. However, discussion can falter when participants don't speak the same language. The following definitions can help participants reach desirable goals.

Networking: The process of sharing information between agencies. These agencies may or may not have common goals. Collaboration: The process of agencies sharing information and resources to achieve common goals.
Coalition of alliance: A group of agencies or organizations collaborating under a formal structure for a common purpose to be more efficient and effective.
Partnership: An association of agencies or organizations working together to eliminate needless competition.

Why Collaborate?
Agencies and organizations working together can bring about worthwhile community action. However, collaboration does have disadvantages. Before collaborating, both the positive and negative consequences of coalition action need to be evaluated as thoroughly as possible.

Advantages
The advantages of collaborating may be immediate or long term, direct or indirect. If there are no immediate or direct benefits to the group, there may be long-term or indirect benefits. It is essential that each partner believes that the benefits outweigh the costs of participation. Frequently described advantages of belonging to a coalition are

Effective and efficient program delivery Improved professional development
Improved communication Elimination of duplication
Increased use of programs
Improved public image
Better needs assessment
Consistency of information
Increased availability of resources

Becoming a partner in a coalition can offer many resources to the innovative group: new staff skills, new knowledge, new equipment and facilities, and new services. Combining the resources of two or more agencies can help deliver more services for the same money or the same services for less money through economies of scale, reduction of duplication, and improved cost-benefit ratios. When group members interact with partners from other groups, they will be exposed to new methods and ideas and become aware of new resources.

Improved communication between partnering agencies and organizations will result in

More consistent and reliable information to clients
An increased use of programs
Better understanding of policy and legislative issues
Better direction given to clients
Improved evaluation of programs

Another advantage to collaboration is coordinated needs assessment. A group of service providers working together can better identify gaps in services. They also can identify more critical problems and set a course of action that makes better use of available resources.

Disadvantages
Some disadvantages of working through a coalition are the following:

Turf protection and mistrust must be overcome. If collaborative partners mistrust each other, they won't be receptive to new ideas, nor will they be willing to share resources. Most of the advantages of working together are lost; in fact, there may be negative outcomes.

Reaching consensus can take time. Many partners may need approval of a higher authority or more study time. Depending on how well the group communicates or how often it meets, decision by consensus can make acting on an issue slow and ineffective.

Limited resources may cause otherwise valuable partners to decide not to collaborate. Devoting resources to a coalition may reduce resources available for other high-priority projects.

Taking a policy position that is inconsistent with one of the partners may cause that partner to be uncooperative or ineffective, or to drop out.

Members in crisis may cause cooperation to decrease. Member organizations are sometimes faced with internal crises, such as budget cuts, changes in administration, or other short-term problems. The coalition may face its own crisis, such as the withdrawal of a key member or pressure from outside groups that disagree with or do not understand the coalition position. These tensions may strain the partnership.

Findings

Human, financial, and social resources in rural communities are continually being depleted. Community groups and organizations within and between communities must explore methods to make program delivery more effective and efficient.

Rural communities are becoming more diverse economically, socially, and culturally. The close-knit rural community that fights alone against abuse is a myth today. Abuse prevention promoters must work hard to help the community create a shared vision of an abuse-free environment.

Conclusions

Agencies and organizations which support community action for abuse prevention must find ways to spread scarce resources to help build awareness and provide prevention education at the community level. Prevention education is an effective long-term strategy and must be supported along with intervention and treatment efforts.

Recommendations

Government support services need to become financial as well as physical supporters of prevention education. Local groups and organizations need more sources of information and support as they go about building family-friendly communities.

References

Dluhy, M.J. Building Coalitions in Human Services. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1990. (Adapted for Iowa State University Extension by Jim Meek, Co-Chair Abuse Issue Committee, from materials developed at the Ohio State University.)

Rossi, R.J. Agencies Working Together, A Guide to Coordinating and Planning. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1982. (This guide has been adapted for Iowa State University Extension by Jim Meek, Co-Chair of the Abuse Issue Committee, from materials developed at the Ohio State University.)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Future by Design, 1991.

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