Alaska's SPF SIG e-Newsletter

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February 2013

February Announcements & Resources

Hello SPF Grantees & Community Prevention Support Team!
This is an email announcement to keep us all up to date on the recent and upcoming happenings around the SPF. Please contact your individual TA provider or Karen Benning at Karen@agnewbeck.com if you have any questions or need assistance.

It has been a busy month for the Alaska SPF-SIG project. Here are a few announcements and new resources that might be helpful as you move into implementation.

New Resources Online: Implementation

Implementation Toolkit from Nebraska SPF-SIG: This is a great toolkit for implementation with resources on topics such as: preparing your coalition for implementation, components of action planning, and implementation review. “Before beginning the implementation phase, your coalition should stop and ensure that members understand the strategies that will be employed, as well as the concise contributions they will provide. Coalition members should agree with the selected strategies and understand how the activities being carried out in the name of the coalition will lead to desired outcomes. Once that understanding and agreement has been reached, it’s time to start implementing selected strategies” (p. 5). Take a moment to check out this resource for guidance on implementation. Download the Implementation Toolkit.

Coalition Resources: We have located several useful guides for coalition work and community-based initiatives to help you navigate as you move into the implementation step of this project. (There are additional resources available on the SPF-SIG website under Step 2: Capacity Building).

The following have been uploaded to the SPF-SIG website for your access:

Evidence-Based Practices for Effective Community Coalitions: This publication discusses the characteristics of community coalitions that have been found to be effective, such as: formalization, planning, inclusiveness, leadership, and ongoing professional development. “The basic underlying premise regarding the effectiveness of using coalitions for prevention efforts is related to the belief that most health issues are complex, multilayered problems that require sophisticated solutions at the community level. Coalitions by themselves are not a prevention strategy, but a means whereby a community can organize, plan, and deliver multi-level and multi-faceted prevention programs, policies, and practices.” (p. 2). Download the full publication here.
People Power – Mobilizing Communities for Policy Change: This manual by CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) discusses the difference between community organizing and community mobilizing. Community mobilizing is described as a shorter-term process where a subject expert has defined the issue, has a specific solution in mind, and encourages people to support the solution. “With the understanding that implementing environmental strategies requires a wide array of people carrying out many tasks simultaneously, it is reasonable to ask, ‘How does a coalition make this happen?’ The answer is… by engaging in community mobilizing” (p. 4). The manual also provides ten steps to implement a policy and how to recruit and retain coalition members. Download the manual here or visit CADCA’s website for additional coalition resources: www.cadca.org.

Fidelity Assessment Rubric Tables: Ever wonder what the fidelity assessment scores will be based on? While the full fidelity guide was shared at the outset of the project, it was requested that we share out just the tables that show the items being measured and the rubric for how those items are scored. To download the scoring tables only click here. The full guide is located here and contains further explanation of the items that are assessed for each step of the SPF. Download the Fidelity Assessment Rubric Tables.

Media Campaigns: Some grantees have chosen to do strategies with a media component, such as a media campaign informing the community of your project or educating them on consequences of alcohol use. Here are a few resources to get started as you begin creating your media campaigns. The CPST team is working with the Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT) Technical Assistance regional provider to coordinate a webinar in late March to discuss media prevention strategies in more detail. Please let us know if you have specific questions you would like answered around this topic.

Wonder what the difference is between social marketing and social norms? Here is a helpful two-page resource that lays out the difference between social marketing, social norms, and information dissemination.
Social marketing fidelity: Here is a two page outline discusses the core components of social marketing and how to stay aligned with highest fidelity to this strategy.
Media campaign fidelity: Here is a one-page outline showing the major components of all forms of media campaigns.

Visit www.alaskaspfsig.org/resources/ for additional resources and tools.

Upcoming Trainings & Presentations

Data Utilization Webinar Series
You still have a chance to join the final webinar in this three-part series! This final webinar could be useful in how to share out your assessment data in building support for the interventions that you chose.

Webinar 3: March 12, 2:00-3:30PM, Data Reporting: Mobilization and Sustainability will describe how to develop an effective data dissemination plan, determine the most appropriate methods for communicating findings to various stakeholders and identify how to use data to mobilize prevention efforts.

Join the call here. For questions please contact CAPT WRT Associate Coordinator Michelle Frye-Spray at mfryespray@casat.org or Diane Casto at l.casto@alaska.gov.

Site Visits & Current Activity

Yakutat
After submitting YTT’s Strategic Plan on January 31, the project team and coalition are regrouping to begin implementation. The coalition-driven strategies seem well tailored to meet Yakutat’s need for reducing adult heavy and binge drinking and underage drinking. Enthusiasm for youth activities and the Women’s Wellness Group is building and community members are now asking when the strategies will get rolling!

Angoon, Kake + Klukwan
SEARHC is in the process of finalizing their strategic plan. The strategies they have selected include: offering alcohol-free events featuring educational speakers on community health topics, digital storytelling of prevention messages, the Green Dot bystander intervention strategy, and using cultural activities to re-connect people with their traditional values.

Nome
Nome is in the process of finalizing their full strategic plan and will be presenting the selected strategies to the CAST coalition on February 19th. The strategies they have selected for adults include: a community mobilization effort consisting of expanding their safety patrol, implementing the Green Dot strategy, and a media campaign to increase awareness of the community and individual impacts of alcohol. For youth, they plan to create mentoring opportunities through traditional and cultural activities, create a peer-helpers program in Nome Junior and Senior High Schools, and a media campaign on the benefits of abstaining from alcohol use and the consequences of underage drinking.

Homer
Homer has just finished our strategic plan. Our strategies include 1) Positive Community Norms (PCN) Campaign, 2) PhotoVoice, 3) Targeted Information Dissemination, 4) Education and Skill Building Opportunities (including a Train The Trainers on adolescent brain development, substance abuse, ACEs and FASD), and 5) Support for Alternative Activities for Youth. The principles of PCN will be woven throughout all of our strategies, and we have also included capacity building components of strengthening and leveraging community and regional partnerships, facilitating improved data collection, and continued training opportunities for coalition members. We are super excited to move into ACTION!

Fairbanks
The Fairbanks coalition is in the process of identifying strategies and developing its strategy-level logic models. For youth they are considering meaningful activities for youth, as well as efforts around peer approval of alcohol use. In the area of adult heavy and binge drinking they are looking at strategies to reduce community acceptance of alcohol-impaired driving.

Wrangell/Petersburg
The project staff from Wrangell/Petersburg have submitted their strategic plan and are currently in Kentucky attending the four-day Green Dot Training Institute. They are excited to share with the other grantees that are using this strategy as they move into implementation. In addition to the Green Dot strategy, they will be conducting an adult-focused media campaign to reduce social availability to youth titled “Lock Up Your Liquor”, expanding their Prime for Life intervention program offerings, and educating the community about the SPF project.

Evaluators
State evaluators will be reviewing strategic plans during February and March as members of the review panel. The following state evaluation activities are also scheduled over the next quarter and will be shared with grantees as results become available.

Key Informant Interviews - Once strategic plans are submitted and approved, state evaluators will be conducting key informant interviews with two individuals from each grantee who were most involved in strategic planning. The interviews are anticipated to begin in early March after IRB approval is received. The interviews will provide grantees an opportunity to share experiences and lessons learned during the strategic planning process. Individuals who are selected to take part in the interviews will be provided the interview topics ahead of time.
Coalition Survey - State evaluators will be administering the coalition survey to each grantee coalition at the end of April. The brief survey is designed to gauge the current strength of coalitions, identify areas that may need attention, and determine how coalitions are growing and flourishing over the course of the grant. In addition to the numeric survey items provided at baseline, coalition members now have a chance to write comments throughout the survey.
Fidelity Assessment - State evaluators will continue to monitor grantee fidelity to the SPF process using the Fidelity Assessment Rubric. State evaluators will use quarterly reports, monthly call notes, data assessment reports, and strategic plans to generate scores and provide feedback to grantees through Step 3 towards the end of March.