Making The Most of Assessment

Collect data to define problems, resources and readiness within the county to address needs

Assessment

Assessing Population NeedsWhy is local assessment critical?

To change a problem locally, you must understand it. Only then can you identify the best way to solve it.

Taking Stock• See what the state has collected• Look for existing data• Collect new data

Places to look for dataIowa Youth Survey Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance SurveyPolice DepartmentSheriff’s DepartmentPublic Health DepartmentSchool DistrictIowa Department of Public HealthOther coalitions or non-profits

Who else collects data locally in your community????

Assessing Population NeedsConsequencesWhat are the negative

impacts of use? These are things like school

suspensions, health consequences and car crashes

ConsumptionDescribe how people use or

misuse substancesFor example how many youth

have used alcohol or tobacco in the last 30 days

Risk and Protective FactorsRisk Factors Domain Protective Factors

Early Aggressive Behavior

Individual

Self-Control

Lack of Parental Supervision

Family

Parental Monitoring

Substance Abuse

Peer

Academic Competence

Drug Availability

School

Anti-drug Use Policies

Poverty

Community

Strong Neighborhood Attachment

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/preventing-drug-abuse-among-children-adolescents/chapter-1-risk-factors-protective-factors/what-are-risk-factors

Setting Priorities

Time lapse

Impact

Changeability

Magnitude

Concentration

DiscussionWhat kind of state and local data have you already collected? What are you still missing? Where might you find it or who might have access to it?

What do you know about the risk and protective factors in your community? How do they contribute to or protect kids or others in your community when it comes to your priority issue?

What data do you have, or do you need to collect, that can tell you more about the magnitude, changeability, impact, concentration and time lapse of the issue you want to address in your community?

What are the next steps that will help you get the most out of your assessment?

www.iowaspfsig.org

SPF ResourcesAssessment

Additional Resources

Next step: Planning for SuccessCreating an Action Plan

This project is funded by Iowa Department of Public Health, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services