Building Healthy Idividuals, Families, and Communities : Creating Lasting Connections.

This monograph describes Creating Lasting Family Connections (CLFC), a multifaceted youth substance abuse prevention program designed to promote the healthy development of youth at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. Chapter 1 discusses the need for alcohol and other drug prevention initiatives, reviews historical trends in substance abuse treatment and prevention, and examines the impact of motivations on prevention practices. Chapter 2 reviews resiliency theory, the theoretical basis for the development of the CLFC program, and Chapter 3 describes the components of the CLFC program. Main program components consist of community mobilization, school mobilization, parent and youth trainings, and early intervention and follow-up activities. Each of the components is described and a conceptual model is presented that illustrates how each component contributes to a successful prevention program. Chapter 4 presents examples of specific training exercises used in the CLFC parent and youth trainings, and Chapter 5 discusses the five-stage strategy used to mobilize communities so that they can make a significant difference in the lives of youth and their families. The final chapter addresses questions about CLFC and discusses the program's effectiveness, parent involvement, youth involvement, characteristics of good trainers for CLFC, and program implementation. Appendices include a list of resiliency factors that are addressed by CLFC and the CLFC program logic model. 69 references.