Posted May 6, 2011 9:40 a.m.

Press Release: For Immediate Release 4/20/2011

Greater Harrisburg and Steelton/Highspire Selected to Join Model Youth Crime and Drug Prevention Effort Local Leaders to Begin Internationally Recognized Initiative

Date: 4/20/2011 Contact: Dennise Hill/Community Mobilizer Communities That Care: Capital Region

The Greater Harrisburg and Steelton and Highspire Communities have been selected as the most recent Pennsylvania community to join in the Communities That Care initiative, an internationally recognized, evidence-based prevention planning effort. The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), through its Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, announced a $134,000 award to Communities In Schools of Pennsylvania to form a community prevention coalition, conduct a local assessment of the factors known to put youth at risk for delinquency, violence and drug use, and develop a comprehensive plan focusing on the use of proven-effective prevention and intervention approaches.

Communities In Schools of Pennsylvania, a state-wide network dedicated to dropout prevention and working through the Capital Region affiliate within Harrisburg and Steelton Highspire School Districts through the Best Practice model of Integrated Student Support Services acknowledges the need for the Communities That Care Process to decrease risk factors for school dropout through engaging the whole community, including youth and families, to solve problems and provide necessary supports towards raising healthy, resilient young people. Nathan Mains, President of Communities In Schools of Pennsylvania commented, “We are very grateful to PCCD for their support of this CTC initiative. The creation of the Greater Harrisburg CTC will provide another much-needed level of services to the youth in Harrisburg and surrounding areas.”

Based on forty years of published research, Communities That Care is a proven-effective community prevention planning process designed to help communities support the healthy development of youth and reduce problem behaviors. It has been adopted by over 500 communities around the world and in published studies has been proven to effectively reduce youth problem behaviors including substance abuse, delinquency, and violence. “Communities That Care has a well-earned reputation for helping children stay in school so they may receive the education they need to succeed in life,” Senator Jeffrey Piccola said. “I was pleased to support such a worthy endeavor.”

Communities That Care research shows that certain risk factors, including family conflict, community norms, and school failure, increase the likelihood that a child will be involved in youth crime or drug use. Conversely, research has also demonstrated that certain positive influences, such as strong family and community values and clear standards, increase the likelihood that a child will grow up healthy and well adjusted. Communities That Care helps communities identify the particular risk and protective factors that influence their children, then select and implement effective programs and strategies to reduce risks and enhance positive outcomes. Evaluation research by Penn State University following nearly 100,000 youth over 5 years found youth in communities using CTC had significantly lower rates of delinquency, and significantly better academic achievement.

In making the announcement Mike Pennington, Director of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention said “PCCD is excited about supporting Communities In Schools of Pennsylvania and communities in the Capital Region in implementing the Communities That Care model. CTC has been the foundation for research-based delinquency and violence prevention programming in Pennsylvania. In these difficult budget times, it is imperative to invest our scarce resources in effective strategies and programs that promote safer communities, produce positive outcomes for youth and families and yield a significant return on investment for taxpayers.”

Community leaders will immediately begin the intensive training and planning process. Local data will be collected and assessed to focus the community’s effort and resources intensively on a small number of factors that are driving poor outcomes for youth, leading to development of a long term strategic plan aimed at reducing youth problem behaviors and preventing them before they begin. Local leaders in education, law enforcement, human services, juvenile justice and others will be actively involved. Training and on-going technical assistance will be provided by the Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support Center, Pennsylvania’s dedicated CTC training and technical assistance provider. UPCOMING EVENTS: • May 2, 2011 o Key Leader Orientation o 8-11 am o 2 South Second Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101 • Every Tuesday (May – June) o 6 pm o Various locations to be announced

For more information about The Capital Region’s Communities That Care initiative, please contact: Dennise Hill at Communities In Schools (717-233-4330), or visit the websites at www.NoMoreDropouts.org, www.pccd.state.pa.us or www.EPISCenter.psu.edu.