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Risk Focused Prevention
Risk-focused prevention is based on a simple premise: To prevent a problem from happening,
we need to identify the factors that increase the risk of that problem developing and then
find ways to reduce the risks. Just as medical researchers have found risk factors for
heart attacks such as diets high in fats, lack of exercise, and smoking, research has
defined a set of risk factors for drug abuse.
Risk-focused drug abuse prevention is based on the work of J. David Hawkins, Ph. D.;
Richard F. Catalano, Ph. D.; and a team of researchers at the University of Washington in
Seattle. Beginning in the early 1980's, the group researched adolescent problem behaviors
and identified risk factors for adolescent drug abuse and delinquency. Not surprisingly,
they found that an interrelationship exists between adolescent drug abuse, delinquency,
school dropout, teen pregnancy, and violence and were able to identify risk factors for
these problems.
View the risk factors for the five youth
behaviorial issues
Social Development Strategy for Prevention
The team of researchers at the University of Washington also found that some children
exposed to multiple risk factors manage to avoid behavior problems later even though they
were exposed to the same risks as children who developed behavior problems. Based on the
research, they identified protective factors and processes that work together to buffer
children from the effects of high-risk exposure and lead to the development of healthy
behaviors.
View the Social Development Strategy Model
Communities That Care
Risk and protective factors provide a necessary focus and structure for prevention.
Communities That Care (CTC) is a prevention model based on the risk-focused framework and
provides structure in making informed decisions concerning prevention services through
annual assessments.
The following report contains the current levels of adolescent substance use, delinquency,
violence, as well as, risk and protective levels as reported by adolescents through the
Kansas Communities That Care school survey. This assessment is undertaken annually by the
Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services/Addiction and Prevention Services and is used
by state agencies, counties, schools and communities in Kansas to monitor the incidence
and prevalence of adolescent problem behaviors and the environmental factors that put
children at risk or protect them from developing those behaviors.
RPC District Participation |
Purpose and Design |
View the CTC survey here |
View the process for updating the CTC survey.
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