CADCA National Coalition Institute

I Need a Recipe Environmental Strategies...PLEASE!

(This is part 1 of a 2-part series of posts in preparation for the Institute’s Webinar series on environmental strategies. Click here for more information or to access the registration page.)

A recipe for environmental strategies is what you want? Unfortunately, no such thing exists. Let me explain further using some examples of technical assistance calls and e-mails that I get from coalitions across the United States.

Shannon, this is... from the... coalition in ... I need some examples of coalitions who have done really well with environmental strategies in their community. My coalition does not quite realize how environmental strategies work and they want examples of what other coalitions have done. Can you direct me to them?”  

First, do you know how many coalitions in the United States successfully plan and implement environmental strategies? TONS! It would be close to impossible for any one person to keep up with all of them. But, I’m amazed to know that each community is very different and no single recipe for success exists when it comes to environmental prevention strategies.

Consider the political challenges associated with the implementation of environmental strategies. Understanding the current climate within your own community is a significant task and matching the conditions in your community with another would be next to impossible. And you must address more than just political challenges.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look at how successful coalitions have implemented environmental strategies. In fact, the Institute provides information from a number of successful coalitions in our Environmental Prevention Strategies publication. Just realize that their recipe will not be the one your coalition will need to create effective strategies for your community.

Ask yourself if your coalition REALLY knows what environmental strategies are and if members could benefit from FREE online training offered by the Institute. Yes, you read that correctly. The session takes about 90-minutes (or less if necessary) and not everyone has to be in the same room. We’ll access an online classroom, provide you with the link and a toll-free phone number. It is that simple. Interested? Call me at 800-54-CADCA, ext. 240.

This post was written by Shannon Weatherly, Technical Assistance Manager for CADCA's National Coalition Institute. Her e-mail address is sweatherly@cadca.org, and her phone number is 800-542-2322, ext. 240.

Exciting News--National Coalition Academy Expanding

CADCA's National Coalition Institute and the National Guard Bureau (NGB), one of our long-standing partners, will add to upcoming National Coalition Academy cohorts in Pennsylvania with groups in Mississippi and Iowa.

This is tremendous news because it affords a greater number of coalitions nationwide the opportunity to experience this innovative course by reducing travel costs to attend the training. Travel is the only expense  to coalitions for the training---the NGB provides registration, materials, lodging and meals at no cost to participating coalitions.

The Academy is the Institute's premiere, comprehensive year-long training that includes three week-long face-to-face sessions, a Web-based distance learning component and an online workstation where participants network and share the products of the course. Face-to-face trainings are held at the Northeast Counterdrug Training Center at Fort Indiantown Gap, Penna., the Midwest Counterdrug Training Center at Camp Dodge, Iowa, and the Regional Counterdrug Training Academy at Meridian, Miss.

Our training and TA team are excited to be back in Iowa and MIssissippi, where we had Academy cohorts several years ago. And everyone at CADCA is grateful for the opportunity to expand our work with the NGB--who have been incredible partners on a variety of initiatives and events.

To quote a recent Academy graduate, "The Academy doesn't cost a dime but you get back a ton of change." If you are an Academy graduate, use the comments section below to let us know about your experience and how participation in the Academy has helped your coalition.

If you haven't participated yet, click here and get more information. 

 

What’s Up with All This Community Assessment?

I love my job and I learn from it everyday.  It is the beauty of talking to community coalitions across this great nation who experience things in different contexts that tend to originate from many of the same problems and issues. 

When a coalition calls and asks for help on Strategic Planning—which is pretty common—I always ask for a copy of their Logic Model. Once I take a look, I quickly begin to ask about data collection and what processes they used to gather information to inform the coalition and the community about their problems. The conversation quickly turns to, “May I see your Community Assessment?”

What I often get are the five or so paragraphs that the coalition used to get a grant, or a compilation of student survey data into some charts and possible a graph or two. First, that is NOT a Community Assessment. And as our famous trainer Paul Evensen says—and I paraphrase—YOU CAN’T CONDUCT A COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT FROM THE CONFINES OF THE FOUR WALLS OF YOUR OFFICE! 

I don’t mean to yell, but a Community Assessment is the foundation for the rest of your coalition’s planning and implementation and it becomes what your coalition will evaluation and eventually, sustain. It provides the process for informing the coalition and community, which is how a coalition also shapes their membership recruitment, diversity issues—basically, EVERYTHING from that point forward. Its importance cannot—and should not—be ignored.

At the Institute, we strongly suggest that you update your Community Assessment on a regular basis (like, every 12 months) and that your coalition engage in data collection continuously.  Why? Well, you need to consistently progress toward outcomes. But how do you know you are getting there if you are not collecting data? Student surveys are a great place to start, but they are not the only place to go! Take a look at page 18 of the Institute’s Assessment Primer for a list (and certainly not an exhaustive one) of data indicators that you can collect to help illustrate the issues your community is facing as a result of substance abuse. 

The Institute also teaches the five elements to Community Assessment. Give me a call, at 800-542-2322, ext. 240, and I can help walk you through those elements. Or call me if you need assistance with your next Community Assessment update.

We would love to hear about what your coalition is doing—add a comment to this blog post and tell us how your community conducted its initial assessment and what it does to keep its assessment up to date. What issues has your community faced in data collection for the purposes of Community Assessment?  How does your coalition use the Community Assessment today, now, in this moment, to make decisions and prioritize action?

This post was written by Shannon Weatherly, Technical Assistance Manager for CADCA's National Coalition Institute. Her e-mail address is sweatherly@cadca.org, and her phone number is 800-542-2322, ext. 240.