Programs
Prevention Comes First
Prevention Comes First is the initiative of Governor Kaine to coordinate Virginia’s prevention-focused efforts, increase public awareness, and target resources to improve public safety, especially in the area of gang-related activity. Recalling the adage that it "is easier to build a boy than mend a man", this initiative encompasses a variety of efforts, throughout the developmental stages, to promote the strong, healthy development of Virginia’s youngest citizens.
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Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 2001 is Title IV of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Under NCLB, a strong emphasis is placed upon well-coordinated, SDFSCA-funded program activities between each state’s principal education agency and the Office of the Governor. The GOSAP has worked in partnership with the Virginia Department of Education to develop the SDFSCA portion of Virginia's consolidated application for funding under NCLB.
For FY 2007-2008, Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA) grants were awarded to 17 projects to support youth substance abuse and violence prevention efforts in communities throughout Virginia. (Go here for a list of current grantees) Grants are awarded in four categories, with priority given to projects targeting youth at higher risk for substance abuse and other problem behaviors. The four categories are:
- Programs for youth who need special services or additional resources (priority);
- Replication of evidence-based programs;
- Community prevention needs assessments; and
- Continuation of effective programs.
Grants management and technical assistance services are provided by the Center for School-Community Collaboration at Virginia Commonwealth University. A cross-site evaluation, designed to assess implementation and collect data on project-specific outcomes, is an ongoing GOSAP oversight activity.
Protect & Respect
When it comes to personal safety, two of the most vulnerable population groups in our society are children and senior citizens. When these two groups join together in intergenerational activities, good things tend to happen for both: kids who are involved with seniors in mentoring programs show improvements in academic and social skills, while many older adults find a new vitality and sense of purpose when they work closely with children. Under the GOSAP’s "Protect & Respect" program, 16 community, faith-based, law enforcement, school, and senior service organizations were awarded grants of up to $50,000 to support evidence-based projects involving youth working together with seniors to improve the overall safety environment for both. Eight intergenerational mentoring projects and eight youth crime prevention projects were funded. "Protect & Respect" was conducted in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for School and Community Collaboration.
Read about the "Protect and Respect" grantees.
PREVENTING GANGS IN VIRGINIA:A MODEL FRAMEWORK
The Department of Education and the Governor's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention are conducting workshops on gang prevention using the risk and protective factors prevention framework. 30 one-day workshops will be held in localities starting in December, 2005 and continuing throughout 2006. (Go here for a schedule of the workshops)
Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Program (YADAPP)
The annual YADAPP summer conference held at Longwood University brings more than 80 teams of four high school students and one adult sponsor to the conference to participate in general sessions, topical workshops and action planning designed to promote youth-led substance abuse prevention efforts when they return to their home communities. As part of the KIDsafe Virginia initiative, YADAPP youth leadership development opportunities were extended to the regional level, involving additional schools and youth in expanded prevention activities.
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KIDsafe Virginia
KIDsafe was a program initiated under the administration of former Governor Mark Warner. This program supplemented and strengthened many existing efforts that emphasize child safety and teach personal safety skills to school-age children and adolescents throughout the Commonwealth. Since KIDsafe Virginia was launched in late 2002, the Personal Safety Curriculum for children in kindergarten to grade 4 were distributed and used to reach more than 164,000 students; more than 138,000 learned from the KIDsafe Crime Prevention Curriculum for high school students. These curricula were designed to be taught by law enforcement officers, in collaboration with classroom teachers. The high school curriculum encouraged teens to become actively involved in crime prevention efforts in their schools and communities.
Well over 370,000 Virginia households received the KIDsafe Parent Guides. Through a partnership with the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association, more than 100,000 DNA Child Identification Kits were distributed free of charge to families throughout the Commonwealth. KIDsafe School Safety Toolkits containing a wealth of informational resources were sent to every public school in Virginia -- all 2,200 of them -- as well as to all school resource officers.
The KIDsafe Parent Guides and School Safety Toolkits are no longer available for distribution.
Governor’s Youth Public Safety Advisory Council (GYPSAC)
GYPSAC was created in 2003 with a two-fold purpose: to give young people a direct voice to the Governor and policymakers involved in the public and personal safety concerns that most directly affect them, while raising general public awareness in, and involvement with, the safety concerns that affect all young Virginians. GYPSAC establishes a formal dialogue between young people and safety professionals about school violence, gangs, substance abuse, and other school and community safety issues.
Sponsored by the GOSAP and the Office of the Secretary of Public Safety, in cooperation with the Virginia Department of Education and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Public Policy, GYPSAC held three regional Speakout! Sessions - in Northern Virginia, Roanoke and Richmond – during which youth leaders provided their candid feedback and thoughts about their top safety issues. Their feedback was recorded and compiled in a report that will inform future policy discussions and program development in the areas identified within its pages.