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LANCASTER -- Now that results of the Fairfield County Youth Survey are in,
county human services agencies have a lot of work ahead of them.
"We've
got a mountain of data that we need to sort through," said Orman Hall,
executive director of the Fairfield County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and
Mental Health Board. "We still have a lot to do before we understand it
fully."
The
ADAMH Board is one of many organizations that will study the countywide
data to better serve Fairfield County teenagers. New Horizons, Mid-Ohio
Psychological Services, The Recovery Center, The Lighthouse, Partnerships
for Success and the Fairfield County Family, Adult and Children First
Council are all involved with detailed planning centered on prevention and
intervention, Hall said.
"The
survey has given us more information to offer programs for substance
abuse," said Toni Peterseim, Partnerships for Success coordinator.
The
survey, administered earlier this year to 2,300 Fairfield County high
school sophomores and seniors, showed an increase in drug use, especially
cocaine, prescription drugs and marijuana. In many categories, drug use
rates were higher in Fairfield County than across the nation.
"That is
beyond anything that is acceptable in our community," said Sheriff Dave
Phalen. "That is bad news."
Partnerships for Success, along with fellow survey sponsors Fairfield
County Family, Adult and Children First Council and the ADAMH Board, will
work to implement what is known as "strategic action planning," Peterseim
said. Programs will be put in place to target specific youth issues such
as sexual violence and substance abuse. These steps, referred to as
"evidence-based planning," are a response to the more serious results of
the survey.
"The
challenge is to identify the risk factors that need to be addressed
through programs," said Marc Grodner, executive director of The Recovery
Center. "We'll use the data as a compass to point us."
Grodner
expressed concern over the finding that many students who reported high
rates of sexual violence in the survey also admitted heavy drug use. In
turn, those who said they were heavy drug users also had in common a lack
of trusted adults at home or at school.
"People
need to know why this stuff is going on and what they can do to make it
better," Hall said. "Most of it is not treatment. Most of it is making
sure they have a better environment at home."
Panelists at Tuesday's Youth Behavior Summit agreed that community and
family involvement are big parts of the plan.
"This
problem is larger than any of us individually," said Clark Davis,
superintendent of the Fairfield Union School District.
Juvenile
Court Judge Steven Williams, along with Phalen, recounted their
experiences with teenagers addicted to alcohol or drugs -- not a pretty
sight, Williams said.
"We need
to take this information and do more," he said. "I challenge us to do so."
Originally published Wednesday, August 18, 2004 |
