MITS SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION PACKAGE FOR MINORITY PARENTS

DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, INC., WILL CONDUCT A R&D EFFORT TOWARD DEVELOPING, FIELD TESTING, AND DISSEMINATING CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE TRAINING PACKAGES DIRECTED AT BLACK, HISPANIC, AND/OR NATIVE AMERICAN PARENTS OF POTENTIAL ADOLESCENT ABUSERS. THE PACKAGE WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED AS A SINGLE 2-HOUR SESSION OR AS TWO 1-HOUR SESSIONS AND DISSEMINATED THROUGH SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, HEALTH CENTERS, ATHLETIC ORGANIZATIONS, DRUG PREVENTION PROJECTS, PARENTS GROUPS, AND OTHER COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS. THE BASIC PACKAGE WOULD CONSIST OF A DISCUSSION LEADER'S MANUAL, A "CURRICULUM," A VIDEOTAPE (AND PERHAPS AUDIO TAPESAS AN ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE), INFORMATION PAMPHLETS, AND DISCUSSION EXERCISES ALL DESIGNED TO FACILITATE AN EFFECTIVEINTERACTIVE PROCESS AMONG MINORITY PARENT PARTICIPANTS IN THE TRAINING SESSIONS. ALTHOUGH THE TRAINING WILL EMPHASIZE MITIGATING ALCOHOL ABUSE, IT WILL BE EMBEDDED IN A WIDER SUBSTANCE ABUSE CONTEXT IN ORDER TO ATTRACT PARENTS WHO ARE LIKELY TO BE INITIALLY MORE CONCERNED ABOUT ILLICIT DRUG USE THAN ALCOHOLABUSE. THE TRAINING PACKAGE HAS THE ACRONYM MITS BECAUSE ITWILL INVOLVE MODERATED INTERACTIVE TRAINING SESSIONS DESIGNED TO FACILITATE SOLUTIONS TO ALCOHOL AND DRUG-RELATEDPROBLEMS FROM AMONG PARTICIPATING PARENTS, ALTHOUGH PARTS OFMITS COULD BE DISTRIBUTED AS STAND-ALONE MATERIALS. THE PHASE I OBJECTIVES ARE TO: (1) CONDUCT A STATE-OF-PRACTICES REVIEW, (2) DEVELOP A FOCUS GROUP DATA COLLECTION PLAN AND PROCEDURES, (3) ARRANGE AND CONDUCT FOCUS GROUPS DATA COLLECTION, (4) REVIEW AND ANALYZE DATA OBTAINED, (5) DEVELOP A PHASE II PLAN, AND (6) DEVELOP A PHASE I FINAL REPORT.