Prevention program to receive national recognition

On Friday, June 7, the university’s Families and Schools Together (FAST) program will receive national recognition as a model program for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

Wisconsin Center for Education Research Senior Scientist Lynn McDonald will receive the award. McDonald designed FAST in 1988 as a school and community program to enhance children’s academic and social performance. FAST programs build relationships among parents, schools, and the community. Families gather once a week, for eight weeks, to share a meal, interact, and participate in a variety of activities including music, drawing, family games, and children’s sports. Students who have participated in the FAST program experience fewer behavioral problems and show improved academic performance, according to McDonald.

CSAP’s annual exemplary substance abuse prevention programs award ceremony will be co-sponsored by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). A press briefing and a luncheon at the J.W. Marriott will accompany this event.

CSAP model programs have been tested in communities and schools across America, and proven to prevent or decrease substance abuse and other high-risk behaviors. McDonald directs the national dissemination of FAST. The program has been disseminated to more than 600 communities in 38 states, four Indian nations, and five other countries. A recent $1.9 million grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, has enabled the launch of FAST as a major initiative, ensuring the quality of replicating this evidence-based model.

Wisconsin was awarded a federal state incentive grant ($3 million annually for three years) to disseminate CSAP model programs across Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services has been designated to administer the grant.

The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) is the nation’s focal point for the identification and promotion of effective strategies to prevent substance abuse –whether illicit drug use, misuse of legal medications, use of tobacco, or excessive or illegal use of alcohol. CSAP provides the tools and knowledge to help reject substance abuse by strengthening families and communities, and by developing knowledge of the types of prevention that work best for different populations at risk of substance abuse including preschool-age children , youth and older Americans.

A model program is the highest level of endorsement provided by CSAP and must meet the following criteria:

• The program is science-based (research-based or evidence-based), meaning it has been reviewed by experts in the field of prevention according to standards of research. Science-based programs are theory-based, have sound research methodology, and can provide evidence that results are clearly linked to the program itself (credible) rather than extraneous events and can be applied successfully to other populations (generalizable). Results from science-based programs may be positive, neutral, or negative and thus can guide other program development and research (utility).
• The program is effective, producing a consistently positive pattern of results to the majority of intended recipients.
• The program has been reviewed by the National Registry of Effective Preventive Programs (NREPP) and scores sufficiently according to 15 dimensions: theory, fidelity, process evaluation, sampling strategy and implementation, attrition, outcome measures, completeness of data, data collection methods, analysis, validity, integrity, utility, replications, dissemination capability, and cultural and age appropriateness.