Prevention Council

Providing Substance Abuse Education, Information and Referral Services

Reader’s View Understanding the Teen Brain

Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Saratogian

Heather Kisselback
Executive Director
The Prevention Council

Editor’s note: Through Friday, The Saratogian is collaborating with the Prevention Council as part of National Prevention Week. This week-long observance is an opportunity to raise awareness about substance abuse and mental health issues, to promote prevention efforts and to educate our local communities about the factors that influence substance use.Prevention Week celebrates the idea that everyone has a role to play in prevention. In order to be most effective, prevention should be woven into all aspects of young peoples’ lives.

It happens all the time: Our teen acts in a way that leaves us incredulous and we ask, “What were you thinking?” The short answer is: They weren’t. They weren’t thinking about consequences at all. The teen brain doesn’t project into the future like that.

The teenage brain is an amazing machine. During adolescence, the brain undergoes amazing developmental changes, establishing neural pathways and behavior patterns that will last into adulthood. But teens are impulsive and prone to risky behavior for a reason: Their brains are a work in progress that doesn’t get completed until roughly age 25.

Because their brains are so impressionable, adolescents are particularly receptive to the range of positive influences in their lives — family and friends, art and music. But those brains are equally receptive to negative influences. Coupled with hormonal changes, those negative influences make teens more prone to depression and likely to engage in risky and thrill-seeking behaviors than either younger children or adults.

Another thing you should know: The teenage brain is wired for risk. Its reward centers crave excitement. It’s an adult’s job to provide opportunities for healthy risk-taking or teens will seek out the default stimulation: alcohol and drugs. What’s worse, the Prevention Council’s student surveys have shown that when teens experiment with alcohol in particular, they’re not sipping drinks sensibly. They’re pounding alcohol at an alarming rate. We’ve learned over the years that a large percentage of kids who do drink are binge drinking (4-5 or more drinks in one social setting).

This is scary stuff. Alcohol robs the brain of future cognitive functions, especially binge drinking. Alcohol use also interferes with normal development of those all-important neural pathways, affecting learning and memory the most.

We buy our children Baby Einstein DVDs, we quiz them with flashcards and sign them up for Chinese language classes and SAT prep courses. We want them to be the best and the brightest. But if that’s the case, we can’t treat alcohol use as a rite of passage. It undermines all those brain-boosting activities we’ve fostered our kids’ whole lives.

So let’s introduce some fun, engaging stimuli to engage these young brains. How about rock climbing or mountain biking? A high ropes course to get their blood pounding. For other teens the thrills might be more cerebral. Whatever it is, take some time to figure out whatever makes your kid’s heart pound. They crave that feeling. The crave excitement, social bonding, and belonging. These are all necessary for the brain and the child to mature, and can be accomplished in a way that satisfies both parents and teens.

Tomorrow’s topic will be about the importance of emotional and behavioral health to the prevention of teen substance use.

Making a mess Tuff eNuff course takes sloppy shape

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

By Jennie Grey
The Saratogian

Runners beware: This is not your average 5K fundraiser race.

This year, the heavy equipment students at the Board of Cooperative Educational Services have built a new and difficult course for Tuff eNuff, the obstacle course challenge that benefits Saratoga County’s Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council.

And on Saturday, runners will tackle the route laid out through the Henning Road BOCES campus and the New York Racing Association Lowlands, leaping over, crawling under and wading through obstacles — and getting very muddy.

The route’s biggest challenges are strung out across the heavy-equipment class’ practice field on the south side of campus. Keeping white tape on their right and colored tape on their left, runners must climb up and slide down tall mounds of dirt, scramble through 3-foot-deep trenches full of muddy water and army-crawl under zigzag rope courses. Other obstacles involve crossing a stream on a log and creeping through tires set in puddles.

The first wave of participants will set out at 9 a.m.; the second at 9:30 a.m. The children’s one-mile race begins at 10 a.m.

The race is a far cry from the annual gala the Prevention Council had held for four years, starting in 2008. Deciding that Spa City had so many galas, council staff chose a new direction for its fundraiser.

“We wanted something more about families and children, which is our mission,” Executive Director Heather Kisselback said. “Running is popular in Saratoga; lots of people here are very active. So, we thought a road race would be fun for families, and for something different, we decided to throw obstacles in the way.”

The physical barriers represent the social and emotional obstacles, such as peer pressure and substance abuse, that children face every day, she said.

Last year, for the inaugural Tuff eNuff race, the Prevention Council met with BOCES heavy-equipment instructors Ken Brooks and Greg Hammond to discuss construction of the course. The teachers and their 70 students, juniors and seniors, were enthusiastic about the idea, and the teachers worked the Tuff eNuff course construction into their curriculum.

“Last year, the course blew me away,” Kisselback said. “Then, the students took it up a notch for this year. The council had told BOCES to do whatever it wanted, and the course turned out incredible. We’re excited.”
The heavy-equipment teachers had students develop and submit course designs, and they chose the work of juniors Jake Beaudet, Walker Chandler and Jerrid Marshall, who brainstormed together.

“The council wanted the course bigger and better than last year,” Marshall said. “So we designed it bigger, and then multiplied by 10. We want to see people get stuck and lose their shoes in the mud.”

The students rose to the occasion, Hammond said. After applying for the job and being hired, 40 students worked on the course for two weeks. The remaining students have been working on other projects, he said.

Beaudet, Chandler and Marshall agreed that one of the benefits of being in charge of the course was having more time on the class equipment: excavators, backhoes and bulldozers.

“We got a lot of hands-on operating time, which was great,” Beaudet said. “We had fun.”

A couple of brave testers ran the course last Friday, Kisselback said. They found the course harder and the water chillier than expected.

The executive director has 70 volunteers to manage the race, in addition to working the event herself. She has one goal for Tuff eNuff.

“I want to watch more people run this year,” she said.

Lucky spectators will be given super-soaker water toys and directed to spray the runners. That might be as much fun as contending with the course — almost.

For more information on the race and registration, go to www.prevention council.org.

Reader’s View Identifying depression and suicide risk

May 15, 2013

By Patty Kilgore
Director of Counseling Services
The Prevention Council

Editor’s note: Through Friday, The Saratogian is collaborating with the Prevention Council as part of National Prevention Week. This observance is an opportunity to raise awareness about substance abuse and mental health issues, to promote prevention efforts and to educate our local communities about the factors that influence substance use. Prevention Week celebrates the idea that everyone has a role to play in prevention. In order to be most effective, prevention should be woven into all aspects of young peoples’ lives.

The onset of spring brings longer days, warmer temperatures and better moods for most, as we shake off cabin fever and soak up the sun.

Many parents, though, may be discovering that what they thought was a case of the winter blahs for their teen may be something more serious. If the blahs haven’t lifted now that the days are longer and sunnier, your teen may be suffering from depression.

Depression is a treatable condition, but if left untreated it can have tragic results. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents.

And contrary to popular opinion, most teens who take their own life do show signs of distress and frequently make threats or drop hints prior to a lethal attempt.

All threats of self harm and suicide must be taken seriously. These threats should not be simply viewed as attention-seeking behavior.

Something is very wrong when a teen threatens or attempts to end his or her life. It’s important to seek professional help if your teen shows any signs of at-risk behavior, including prolonged sadness, verbalized hopelessness, preoccupation with death, giving away prized possessions or talking about suicide and self-hatred.

Teens who suffer from anxiety or depression are at much higher risk than their peers of using substances as an escape.

When teens don’t get the help they need, it’s common for them to self medicate with whatever substance is easily accessible.

But it’s important to keep in mind that when a teen is feeling suicidal, alcohol and drug use can lead to disaster. Because alcohol and drugs can temporarily numb feelings, a suicidal teen might think it’s the solution.

But it’s a very short-lived solution. Self-medicating leads to increased depression, poor judgment and impulsivity — factors that can have fatal results via accidents or deliberate actions.

The single most important thing adults can do to prevent suicide is to provide support.

Your teenager needs to know that you support and love him or her unconditionally, and that you are willing to help. Moodiness, rebellion and testing limits are normal teen behaviors.

But depression and suicidal thoughts are not. If you suspect your teen is depressed, suicidal or suffering from another mental health condition, please seek help.

Learn the signs of suicidal thoughts and feelings. Trust your gut. You know your child best and you know when something is seriously wrong.

Reader’s View No underage drinking in our house

May 14, 2013
Reader’s View, The Saratogian

Editor’s note: Through Friday, The Saratogian is collaborating with the Prevention Council as part of National Prevention Week. This week-long observance is an opportunity to raise awareness about substance abuse and mental health issues, to promote prevention efforts and to educate our local communities about the factors that influence substance use. Prevention Week celebrates the idea that everyone has a role to play in prevention. In order to be most effective, prevention should be woven into all aspects of young peoples’ lives.

It’s prom season, and along with the dress, the tux, the hair and the nails comes another prom ritual: drinking.

Alcohol is youths’ No. 1 drug of choice. Saratoga County schools have been proactive in many ways to make sure our teens are safe, but they can only control what happens at the prom itself.

Teens have told us they only stay at the prom long enough to take pictures and then they are off. But where are they going? Last year, we heard an alarming number of stories about teens who went to parties at friends’ homes where alcohol was provided — sometimes with parents’ permission, sometimes without. Scary, right?

The term “social host” refers to people who provide alcohol to someone younger than 21. It’s irrelevant whether a parent or guardian is home or not home, aware or unaware. You become a social host when minors drink alcohol on your property, and you can be held liable for endangering the welfare of those minors. It’s illegal to provide alcohol to anyone younger than 21. It’s illegal for them to consume it, too. But when adults make underage drinking possible, whether by actively hosting or passively closing their bedroom door, they will be the ones police track down when things get out of hand.

Our biannual Saratoga County student surveys have consistently shown that most youths who drink get alcohol from a social host: friends or siblings who are older than 21, parents, house parties or by sneaking it from home. Eighty percent of Saratoga teens who drink alcohol reported they did so “at someone’s house.”

So what should you do if you find out about a gathering where alcohol is going to be provided to minors? There is a wonderful, anonymous hotline you can call to report it: 1-866-UNDER21. If you call the hotline before the party, police will contact the homeowner to remind them that serving minors is illegal and that they will be stopping by that evening. If the call is made while a party is already under way, expect some uninvited guests in uniform.

Parents often tell us that they’d rather their children drink at home in a “safe” environment, where they know where their kids are and who they’re with. But don’t think you’re doing your kids and their friends any favors by allowing them to drink with supervision. There is no such thing as a safe environment for underage drinking.

As a host, you cannot predict the behavior of a minor under the influence of alcohol or how much they have consumed. You put teens at risk of alcohol poisoning, sexual assault, violence and physical injury, and you can be held criminally liable for endangering the welfare of a minor. Parents and other adults need to remember that they are the greatest influence on their teens’ decisions. Parents also bear the primary responsibility for their teens’ misconduct.

If you are hosting a group of kids after the prom, promote responsible celebration. Check regularly on the teens who are camping out in your backyard or on the kids hanging out in your basement. Remove alcohol from your home that evening or lock it up. Check in with your teens regularly from a landline phone if they are at a friend’s house. Make sure they know that you expect them to stay sober not only on prom night, but every night they’re out with their friends.
We’ve said it before, but the message bears repeating: The stronger the parental message against underage drinking, the less underage drinking takes place.

Wednesday’s topic will be suicide prevention.

Heather Kisselback
Executive Director
The Prevention Council

Reader’s View Prescription drugs and lethal results

Reader’s View
The Saratogian

Monday, May 13, 2013

Editor’s note: The Saratogian is collaborating with the Prevention Council as part of National Prevention Week. This week-long observance will cover the topics of under-age drinking, prescription drug use, the teenage brain, hosting underage parties, suicide prevention, and the relevance of mental, emotional, and behavioral health to substance use and abuse.

Prescription drugs have become the hot new thing because they’re cheap, they’re easy to come by and kids think they’re safer than street drugs. But nothing could be further from the truth. The way prescription medications are being abused and combined for non-medical purposes is one of the scariest trends in teen culture today.

By the time they get to high school, teens who are inclined toward drug use say they’re bored with the usual ways to get high. They’re willing to experiment with different combinations of drugs to find new ways to chase that thrill. Popping pills is bad enough, but combining different medications and adding alcohol to the mix can have disastrous results.

According to figures provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 91 percent of all unintentional poisoning deaths were caused by drugs, with prescription painkillers involved most often. For children, emergency room visits from medication poisonings happen twice as often as poisonings from other household products.

But even without poisonings or overdoses, there is serious cause for concern.

Prescription drugs are gateway drugs for later use of heroin, cocaine and other street drugs. What begins as experimentation can easily lead to serious, life-changing addiction problems down the line.

The prescription medications we hear about most at the Prevention Council are painkillers such as Oxycontin, Oxycodone and Vicodin, and anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax. These drugs are not only addictive, but they’re widely prescribed, and combined with alcohol, very dangerous. They cause 26,000 deaths a year according to estimates by the Prescription Monitoring Program Center of Excellence at Brandeis University.

In local focus groups, Saratoga County teens have told us they also use drugs like Ritalin to help focus on school work. The good news is that in previous surveys, administered by the Prevention Council to 7-12 graders every other year, only a small number of teens report using prescription drugs regularly. Experimentation, however, is happening on a larger scale, with the number of kids who say they’ve “ever” tried prescription drugs for recreational purposes ranging from 15-25 percent over the past few years. (Saratoga Springs’ most recent student survey results will be released Tuesday night, May 14)

It only takes one wrong drug combination to have lethal results: think on the celebrity level of Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Anna Nicole Smith, or Heath Ledger. Medication abuse is real, and it doesn’t only affect teens. It’s an issue for adults as well.

Both nationally and locally, we’ve begun to take action. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began hosting nationwide prescription drug take-back days in 2010. Locally, these events take place twice a year in Saratoga Springs, Clifton Park and Mechanicville. At the most recent drug drop day on Saturday, April 27, these three sites joined thousands of others around the county to dispose of 371 tons of unused, unwanted, or expired medications. According to the DEA website, that’s double the amount of drugs collected at the September 2012 drug drop.
We are very grateful to our friends in law enforcement for these efforts, and also for making it possible to drop drugs easily and anonymously year-round at the Waterford Police Department (for Waterford residents only) or at the State Troopers barracks in Latham, which both have drop-boxes available 24/7 for this purpose. For specific details, go to www.dec.ny. gov/chemical/63826.html#Upper.

Our goal is not to disparage prescription medications across the board. For people with chronic pain or anxiety, they are indispensable. But once available, these drugs are prone to misuse.

We need to work within our individual families and communities to combat the problem. We need to educate our children about the dangers of prescription medications, and our school and medical personnel about how to recognize the signs of abuse. And we need to do our part to keep prescription drugs out of the wrong hands by locking them up and getting rid of them when they’ve served their intended purpose.

Tomorrow’s topic will be the teenage brain. For more information, go to www.preventioncouncil. org.

Heather Kisselback
Executive Director
The Prevention Council

Reader’s View Strong words to prevent underage drinking

Reader’s View
The Saratogian
Published: Sunday, May 12, 2013

Editor’s note: Over the next five days, The Saratogian will collaborate with the Prevention Council as part of National Prevention Week. This week-long observance is an opportunity to raise awareness about substance abuse and mental health issues, to promote prevention efforts, and to educate our local communities about the factors that influence substance use. Prevention Week celebrates the idea that everyone has a role to play in prevention. And in order to be most effective, prevention should be woven into all aspects of young peoples’ lives.

Over the next five days, we will cover the topics of underage drinking, prescription drug use, the teenage brain, hosting underage parties, suicide prevention, and the relevance of mental, emotional, and behavioral health to substance use and abuse.

Do you think underage drinking is a teenage rite of passage? Prevention Council staff hear the following arguments all the time: If teens can vote or serve in the military at 18, why can’t they drink, too? Or, in Europe, kids are allowed to have wine with dinner and it’s not a problem.

We also hear from well-meaning parents who worry that treating alcohol as a forbidden fruit makes it that much more enticing. By forbidding it, parents worry their teens won’t be prepared for social drinking when they leave home after graduation. If we host a party ourselves, the thinking goes, at least we’ll know where our kids are.

Here’s the thing: Over and over, in school districts throughout Saratoga County, student and parent survey results show that the stronger the parental message against underage drinking, the less drinking takes place. International research bears this out, too: Kids who believe their parents would strongly disapprove of their using substances are less likely to use them.

In the middle school grades, our tweens get this message loud and clear. Parents are dead set against alcohol experimentation, and kids know it.

But in high school, when parents start having angst about whether to say “no” altogether or attempt to teach responsible drinking habits, teens detect this waffling. And the absence of strong condemnation is treated as blanket approval.

Here’s what we know from Prevention Council survey data collected in 2010:

• 50 percent of Saratoga County 11-12th graders drink alcohol regularly, exceeding the NYS rate of 44 percent.

• 33 percent of Saratoga County 11-12th graders are binge drinking, exceeding the NYS rate of 28 percent. (Binge drinking is 4 to 5 or more drinks at one social setting.)

• Parents vastly underestimate their teens’ drinking habits.

We also know that teens who use alcohol are much more likely to experience sexual assaults and fights, accidents, alcohol poisoning, and lower school performance. Youth who drink before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol addiction than those who start drinking at 21, according to the National Institutes of Health.

And in answer to those questions about voting and the military? Recent research has shown that the adolescent brain doesn’t finish developing until age 25. We now know that underage drinking damages important brain functions. Just because an 18-year-old has the skills and judgment to vote or perform military service doesn’t mean he’s mature on all fronts.

And what about those European teens who drink wine with dinner?

Research has shown that they are much more likely to binge drink when they’re out with their friends. On the whole, teen binge drinking rates in Europe far exceed our binge drinking rates in the US.

This is a perfect example of how condoning even moderate alcohol use is a very slippery slope. Teens interpret that leeway very loosely. Even if you take away everyone’s keys at an underage drinking party in your home, the message you send by allowing underage drinking at all puts your child at risk for serious heavy drinking — later, elsewhere, in places where you won’t be there to supervise.

Right now is the perfect time to send a strong message against underage drinking. It’s spring and there’s celebration in the air. Proms, graduations, sports banquets, and barbecues are blocked out on our busy calendars. Believe it or not, parents, you are still the most powerful influence in your child’s life — greater than peers, popular music, television, celebrities and the media. Youth who consistently learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are half as likely to use drugs and alcohol than those who do not. So no waffling. Wield your influence wisely. Tomorrow’s topic will be prescription drugs.

For more information, go to www.preventioncouncil. org.

Heather Kisselback
Executive Director
The Prevention Council

Jeff Yalden Speaks at 31st Safe Spring Student Leadership Conference

By Chelsea DiSchiano for Saratoga Today>>

Jeff Yalden at Safe Spring
(Photo by Mark Bolles/Saratoga Today)

The Palamountain Hall at the Skidmore campus was filled with over 200 high school students from all around Saratoga County on March 12 as they excitedly anticipated a lecture by life coach Jeff Yalden, famous for his appearances as a life coach on MTV’s popular reality program, “MADE.”

Yalden made the appearance for the 31st Annual Safe Spring Student Leadership Conference put on by The Prevention Council of Saratoga County in its effort to encourage students to be sober while celebrating upcoming spring activities, such as the prom and graduation.

Students from 12 school districts in Saratoga County brought in their own “Pride Boards”—decorative poster boards with ideas on how to promote positive prevention methods in their schools—which were then displayed throughout Palamountain Hall for all to see and discuss. The conference started off with a screening of anti-bullying videos created by WSWHE-BOCES students for their “Be an Ally” campaign before the lecture by Jeff Yalden began.

A variety of topics were covered during his almost two-hour long lecture, making the students cheer and clap with loud laughter at certain parts, but wiping away tears at others as he spoke of some of his more morose life experiences and lessons learned.

Yalden gave several personal anecdotes to reveal many of the life lessons he has learned, from growing up in an abusive household and dealing with his grandfather’s death, to his current issues with anxiety and depression.

The lecture had various themes and advice throughout, such as to seek approval only from yourself instead of from others; never change your character for other people and remain true to yourself; making sure to have a positive attitude no matter what and to live life like no one else is watching.

He also spoke frequently about his dog Chase, who passed away two years ago. Many students in the crowd were spotted wiping tears from their eyes as Yalden described his little best friend and how Yalden had taken him for granted his whole life.

“If I stuck one of my daughters and my dog in the trunk of my car for 30 days and then came back to let them out, my dog would be the only one happy to see me,” Yalden said to laughing teenagers. “I took him for granted all 12 years of his life.”

He used his experiences with Chase to compare the way his dog lived to the way humans should live—by accepting others for who they are and never judging anyone.

The final message Yalden emphasized to students was to avoid disappointment by lowering any unrealistic expectations they might have.

“Don’t focus on your expectations,” Yalden said. “Focus on the objective—the present moment—which gives you control. If you do that, you won’t face disappointment.”

“You need to ask yourself three things every day,” Yalden said. “Is my life meaningful? Is it fulfilling? Is it rewarding? If the answer to any of those questions is no, then your purpose isn’t great enough.”

The Wilton Barnes & Noble location will host a bookfair from Saturday, March 16 to Thursday, March 21 to benefit The Prevention Council. The Prevention Council will be in attendance for arts and crafts, face-painting and story time. A percentage of any books purchased at the book fair with a voucher will be donated to the Council.

To learn more about The Prevention Council or for more details on the Bookfair, visit www.preventioncouncil.org.

Dangerous Ways Teens are Getting Drunk and High

FOX23 News
February 21, 2013

When it comes to the latest trends of teens drinking and getting high, some of the ways alcohol is being manipulated will shock you.

Plus, the products kids are using are likely on your grocery list.

74 percent of high school seniors in Saratoga County alone admit they have used alcohol, according to a survey conducted by the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Council.

But how they’re getting drunk and high is a lot more dangerous than you may think.

“I got tired of the things that I felt from smoking weed and drinking and I just wanted to experience something that I had never felt before,” says a teen who used.

“Jason” is 23-years-old and started getting high off cough syrup when he was 18. NEWS10 agreed to hide his identity.

“There was a period of time that I was using cough every day for about a month,” he says. “I felt as if I was having an out-of-body experience.”

Students from a Saratoga County high schools say they know people like Jason.

“I think the issues have increased and they’re going to be bored with the regular ways to get high and drunk by the time they get to high school,” says one student. “You have sixth and seventh graders who are participating in these activities.”

Gail Moore, the Outpatient Program Director at the Addictions Care Center in Albany says teens are looking for newer and more experimental ways to get drunk and high.

“We’re seeing kids in the suburbs who are really bored, will put anything in their bodies,” says Moore.

One of those things is hand sanitizer – made up of 65 percent alcohol. It’s being distilled with salt, filtered, and then consumed.

“When you take in these products, you’re not just taking in the ethyl alcohol,” says Dr. Jill Braverman-Panza. “Things have other things put in them like hand sanitizers, have benzyl chromium chloride to stop you from drinking them.”

Another option is gummie bears and hard candy soaked in vodka, alcoholic whipped cream, or Jason’s choice, cough syrup.

“I didn’t know anything about addiction,” he says. “I didn’t see myself becoming an addict. I thought everyone was doing it and that I would be able to use and have fun, but if I needed to stop I could just stop. But there was no stopping.”

So what do you do as a parent?

Experts say it may seem simple, but monitor your medicine cabinet.

Plus, irritability is a big sign of cough syrup use. Experts say a hangover from cough syrup is actually worse than a hangover from drinking alcohol.

With so many variables now involved that go beyond just a bottle of alcohol, parents have a lot more to learn.

“It’s a dangerous experimentation, you’re playing with your life,” says Jason, who is now a recovering heroine addict at 23-years-old.

He says within two years, the cough syrup use led to cocaine, prescription pills, and finally heroine.

He is now clean and in an addictions care center with a felony record; but sober and resolves to remain that way.

Survey Aims to Assess Parent Awareness of Kids’ Drug and Alcohol Use

January 28, 2013

POSTED BY Laura Rappaport
Saratoga Wire

What do parents know about their kids’ drug and alcohol habits? That’s a question the Saratoga Partnership for Prevention asks every two years.

The Partnership is asking parents of kids in grades 7-12 in the Saratoga Springs City School District to take a brief online survey about adolescent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use by going to Survey Monkey. The process is completely anonymous and takes less than 15 minutes.

The parent questionnaire is the companion survey to the Youth Prevention Needs Assessment given every other fall to all Saratoga Springs 7th – 12th graders. It’s designed to track the attitudes and perceptions of a random sample of Saratoga Springs parents, says Robin Ambrosino, marketing and communications manager for the Prevention Council, which houses the partnership.

It’s also a way to gauge the similarities and differences between parents’ perceptions of teen behavior and the behavior teens actually report. Results of both surveys will be publicized in April.

“We want to find out if parents think their kids are engaging in the behaviors that kids say they are,” Ambrosino says. “What we’ve found over the years is that parents underestimated by a pretty large margin the behaviors kids are participating in,” she says. What it comes down to is that many parents think their high school kids are not drinking beer or smoking pot, but kids report they are doing those risky – and illegal – things.

The good news, however, is that drinking is down at Saratoga Springs High School. Ambrosino says that in 2008, drinking by SSHS seniors was well above the national average, but it’s been coming down over the past few years.

Sixth graders are no longer surveyed because in the past their answers showed such a low rate of drug and alcohol use.

She notes that while there is a big spike in drinking and drug use when kids enter ninth grade, that jump isn’t actually as big as it’s reputed to be.

Thus, she says, one goal of the Partnership for Prevention is to help the community change perceptions and the culture at the high school. So, while kids think it’s cool to drink in high school, the community needs to show them it’s not – and kids need to be aware that just because they’ve started high school doesn’t mean that everyone’s experimenting with alcohol.

“Fewer kids drink than they think,” Ambrosino says.

She said while some kids inflate their usages rates, the surveys have built-in checks and balances that help weed out questionnaires that have inconsistent responses.

In order to have a representative adult sample, 350 parents need to complete the 23 questions on the online form. Parents’ answers will be used to help the Partnership plan parenting programs, community events that send consistent messages about underage substance use, and ways to support families as their children progress through the teen years, Ambrosino says.

The Saratoga Partnership for Prevention is a program of the Prevention Council. It is made up of youth, parents, and individuals representing key sectors and organizations concerned about youth in the Saratoga Springs school district.

The survey continues through mid-February.

Prevention Council looks to overcome loss of grants

December 7, 2012
YNN News

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Since its inception 10 years ago, the Prevention Council’s drug free program at Saratoga Springs High School has made great strides in the war on substance abuse.

“Their usage rates dropped almost 40 percent,” executive director Heather Kisselback said. “There’s still kids using so it’s just a matter of what as a community is acceptable to you. To us it’s zero, we don’t want any kids using.”

“When you have consistency over a long period of time it becomes part of the culture,” Saratoga Springs School District superintendent Michael Piccirillo said.

Unfortunately for administrators, that culture could be at risk. A 10-year federal grant for the program expires in September, with a state grant for a similar class at the Shenendehowa School District running out six months later.

“All of these grants have time limits on them and you really hope you can find a way to sustain them and that’s very difficult to do in this day and age,” Kisselback said.

The organization’s $1.5 million budget is already down $120,000 from a year ago thanks to the elimination of programs like Youth Court. By moving into a smaller space in The Mill building last month, they’re tightening their belt even further.

By moving out of the former Phila Street location, the Prevention Council was able to trim $35,000 off its budget, about the cost of one staff person but still not enough to cover the price of either expiring grant.

“The better situation would be that the money came back…that there was more grants out there,” Kisselback said.

With that scenario unlikely, the Prevention Council, local schools and other organizations are teaming together to look for ways and dollars to keep the programs running without the usual funding, a large task administrators say they must accomplish.

“Yes, the funding is moving away and yes, that’s an issue but we’re going to move forward, that’s a given. There’s no doubt in my mind we’ll move forward,” Piccirillo said.