Archives
Community Building
Fairfax Cares, a new FPY initiative, seeks to facilitate neighborhood
forums that educate community members about youth risks and assets,
empower our neighborhoods to create opportunities for civic engagement,
and measure the healthy development of our youth and their communities.
Results from the recently completed "Communities That Care Youth
Risk Survey" will be disseminated to more than 100 neighborhoods
in February 2002. The Fairfax Cares advisory committee includes representatives
from a variety of local and national organizations, including, but not
limited to, the Fairfax County government and school system, Volunteer
Fairfax, America's Promise, and the American Jewish Congress.
The comprehensive Communities That Care Youth Risk Survey,
used to identify trends and focus prevention efforts, was a joint effort
of the Fairfax County government, the Fairfax County Public Schools,
and the Fairfax Partnership for Youth. Survey results have shaped Partnership
positions and focused advocacy efforts at both the local and state level.
FPY's Early Intervention Study, coordinated with the Fairfax
County Public Schools and the Catholic University of America, surveyed
educators and service providers to determine the breadth and depth of
behavior issues associated with students in grades K-3.
Reduction of Gang Violence: Learning Circle Gang Initiative
The Learning Circle Gang Initiative defines a community driven pilot
program focused on preventing gang activity in the Springfield/Franconia
area of Fairfax County. Once defined, the pilot will be implemented
by the Fairfax Partnership for Youth, in collaboration with Fairfax
County Department of Systems Management for Human Services. The "Learning
Circle" will include representatives from public safety, public
schools, human service agencies and community based organizations (including
faith based), plus community leaders and families impacted by gang activity.
This activity will continue into FY 2003.
Resource Locator
The Community Resources for Youth and Their Families brochure was recently
updated in conjunction with the Fairfax Cares Initiative. The brochure
is currently being distributed to Fairfax County agencies including
schools, police and health departments, Alcohol and Drug Services offices,
Board of Supervisors and School Board offices, and Teen Centers and
Community Centers, among others. Additional brochures are being translated
into Spanish, Korean, Farsi, and Vietnamese.
For more information about Fairfax Partnership for Youth programs and
services, contact Beverley
Blondell at 703-324-5703 (Suite 1050, 12011 Government Center Parkway,
Fairfax, VA 22035).
Below you’ll see some striking results from the “Communities
That Care (CTC) Youth Survey.” As you read through each section,
please consider what you, as an individual, or what your organization
can do to help mitigate some of these issues, and support our youth.
Background on the Communities That Care Youth Survey
The Communities That Care Youth Survey was administered to a random
sampling of 11,300 8th, 10th, and 12th graders in the Fairfax County
school system during the winter of 2001. It measured a total of 18 risk
factors and nine protective factors that are characteristic of the community,
family, school, and peer environments, as well as individual characteristics
of the respondents themselves that are known to predict drug use, delinquency,
and gang involvement. The Communities That Care Youth Survey has been
administered on a state level in ten states and in more than 500 communities.
The CTC survey was the product of a collaborative effort involving
the Fairfax Partnership for Youth, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors,
the Fairfax County Public Schools and School Board, and the Fairfax
County Human Services Council.
CTC Statistics
§ More than 1,800 12th graders indicated a use of alcohol in the
30 days prior to the survey’s administration.
§ Almost 4,000 respondents reported that over the 12 months prior
to the survey’s administration, they had felt sad or hopeless for
days at a time. Nearly 1,000 of the respondents indicated one or more
attempts at suicide during this same period.
§ 46% of the respondents reported at least one instance where
they were bullied, taunted, ridiculed or teased. Almost 12% indicated
10 or more occasions of these behaviors directed at them.
Below are excerpts from the report, touching on substance abuse, alcohol,
tobacco, marijuana, inhalants, other substances, antisocial behaviors,
health, mental health & safety, use of time and experiences of aggression.
The results
of the entire survey [PDF, 335 kb] can be found on the Fairfax County
web site.
Lifetime Substance Abuse (use of substance one or more
times)
| · |
For reported
lifetime use, Fairfax County’s surveyed youth scored virtually
the same or lower in all 13 categories of drugs than the youth
in Monitoring the Future study. |
| · |
The Communities
That Care Youth Survey results indicate alcohol was the most often
reported substance. |
| · |
Alcohol, cigarettes,
smokeless tobacco, and marijuana use all steadily increased from
the 8th thru 12th grades. |
| · |
For all grades,
alcohol was the most prevalent, available, attractive, and pervasive
drug used by adolescents. |
| · |
Cigarettes were
the second most reported substance used by all grades (60.1% of
12th graders). |
| · |
Marijuana was
the third most reported substance used by 10th and 12th graders,
while inhalants were the third most reported substance used by
8th graders. |
| · |
Smokeless tobacco
was the fourth highest category for 10th and 12th graders while
marijuana was the fourth highest category for 8th graders. |
30 Day Use (use of substance in last 30 days)
| · |
Fairfax County’s
survey respondents scored lower than the national prevalence rates
in all 30-day use categories except 12th grade use of alcohol,
binge drinking, and hallucinogens. |
| · |
Despite the generally
lower comparative rates, of significance is the 30-day use of
alcohol by Fairfax youth: 21% of 8th graders, 36% of 10th graders,
and 53.4% of 12th graders. |
| · |
9.3% of 8th graders,
15.4% of 10th graders, and 29.6% of 12th graders reported smoking
cigarettes in the last 30 days. |
| · |
4.7% of 8th graders
report using an inhalant in the last 30 days. |
| · |
4.4% of 12th
graders report using hallucinogens in the last 30 days. Ecstasy,
(primarily classified as a stimulant), while not specifically
named in the Communities That Care Youth Survey, was most likely
considered a hallucinogen by many respondents. |
Alcohol
| · |
Lifetime prevalence
use of alcohol was reported at 42.0% for 8th graders, 61.3% for
10th graders, and 76.5% for 12th graders. This indicates that
Fairfax County youth are experimenting at a lower rate compared
with the findings from the Monitoring the Future study. |
| · |
The number of
occasions respondents used alcohol in the 30-day period increased
for each grade. |
| · |
The number of
occasions reported for males is higher then the number reported
for females. |
| · |
Asian youth consistently
reported less prevalence of use and less frequency of use than
other youth in terms of lifetime, 30-day and binge drinking. (Binge
drinking is defined as five or more drinks in a row in the last
two weeks.) |
| · |
White and Latino
respondents indicated higher levels of use than the other ethnic
groups. |
| · |
18.3% of 10th
graders and 31.0% of 12th graders reported binge drinking in the
last two weeks. |
Tobacco
| · |
Tobacco, both
nationally and in Fairfax County, is the second most commonly
used substance. |
| · |
Compared with
national trends, Fairfax County youth rates are lower for both
lifetime and 30-day prevalence use. |
| · |
National trends
of cigarette use have been generally stable over the last five
years. |
| · |
Lifetime prevalence
of cigarette use for Fairfax County youth ranges from a low of
27.1% for 8th graders, to a high of 60.1% for 12th graders. For
30-day prevalence of cigarettes, rates range from a low of 9.3%
for 8th graders to a high of 29.6% for 12th graders. |
| · |
Use of cigarettes
among all ethnic groups ranged from 33% to 55% for lifetime use,
and 12% to 21% for 30-day use. Latino youth rates were the highest
and Asian youth rates were the lowest in both 30-day and lifetime
use. |
Marijuana
| · |
Reported lifetime
use rates of marijuana by Fairfax County youth were: 10.0% for
8th graders, 25.7% for 10th graders, and 44.7% for 12th graders.
|
| · |
The reported
use rate of marijuana by Fairfax County youth is lower than the
national rates generated by the Monitoring the Future study. Fairfax
County 8th graders reported a lifetime rate of less than half
the national average. |
| · |
The Fairfax County
30-day prevalence rate for the 8th and 10th grades is lower than
the national average, while 12th grade rates are higher than the
national rates. |
| · |
Fairfax County
males’ use of marijuana was significantly higher than females
in both the lifetime and 30-day use. |
| · |
Whites, American
Indians, African Americans and Latinos all reported lifetime use
rates of ~30%. Asians reported use of 15%. |
Inhalants
| · |
Inhalant use
most often occurs in younger school-aged populations. This is
most likely due to easy accessibility of toxic products such as
cleaning chemicals, fuel products, and nitrous oxide. |
| · |
Fairfax County
respondents reported lower use as compared to the rates from the
Monitoring the Future study. |
| · |
In Fairfax County,
both lifetime and 30-day, prevalence of inhalant use peaks in
the 8th grade. |
Other Substances
| · |
The survey also
measures the prevalence of use for a variety of other drugs including
amphetamine, cocaine, crack, depressants, heroin, hallucinogens,
and steroids. |
| · |
Lower levels
of lifetime use (10% or less) for these other drugs are typical
of adolescent populations. They tend to be concentrated in the
upper grades. |
| · |
Reported use
of these other drugs by the Fairfax respondents was generally
significantly below 10%, with the exception of a reported use
rate of 12.2% of hallucinogens by 12th graders. The survey defined
hallucinogens as LSD or other psychedelics. As indicated previously,
this figure may be attributable to respondents classifying Ecstacy
as a hallucinogen. |
Antisocial Behaviors
The Communities That Care Youth Survey measures the prevalence of a
series of antisocial behaviors over the past 12 months.
| · |
Attacking Someone
with Intent to Harm – 11.5% of the respondents reported attacking
someone with the intent to harm the individual (15.7% of boys
versus 7.3% of girls). |
| · |
Been Arrested
– While the term arrested was not defined, 4.2% of surveyed
respondents reported the behavior, with the rates higher both
for older respondents and for males. |
| · |
Carrying a Handgun
– While the conditions of carrying a handgun were not defined,
only a small percentage (2.9%) of respondents reported this behavior. |
| · |
Drunk or High
at School – 12.1% of the respondents surveyed reported being
drunk or high at school. The behavior ranged from a low for 8th
graders (6.1%) to a high for 12th graders (17.9%). |
| · |
Selling Drugs
– Although the survey did not specify location or types of
drugs sold, 5.9% of respondents reportedly engaged in this behavior,
with older youth participating at higher levels than younger ages. |
| · |
Suspension –
In Fairfax County, 7.7% of respondents reported having been suspended. |
| · |
Taken Handgun
to School – Of the youth surveyed, 0.7% reported bringing
a handgun to school. |
| · |
Vehicle Theft
– 2.5% of the respondents reported they have stolen or tried
to steal a motor vehicle. |
| · |
Carried Other
Weapon – Of the youth surveyed, 15.9% reported carrying a
weapon, other than a handgun, in any location. |
| · |
Taking Other
Weapons to School – 5.0% of the respondents reported they
had taken a weapon, other than a handgun to school. |
Health, Mental Health, and Safety
Highlights of questions concerning health, mental health, and safety
asked of the Fairfax County youth include the following:
| · |
91.4% of all
respondents indicated that they had been taught about HIV/AIDS. |
| · |
Almost half the
youth indicated they had never, or at least in the last year,
ridden a bicycle without a helmet. Conversely, 29.7% reported
riding once a week or more without a helmet. |
| · |
When questioned
about seatbelt use, 41.4% indicate that they have never, or at
least in the last year, ridden in a car without a seatbelt. 36.9%
indicated that they ride in a car without a seatbelt two or more
times a month. |
| · |
A large percentage
of respondents (79.0%) reported not driving with a drinking driver
in the past year. An even larger amount (86.3%) indicated they
had never driven after drinking. |
| · |
When questioned
about if they had felt sad or hopeless for days or weeks at a
time over the last 12 months, 34.9% acknowledged such feelings,
18.5% reported they had considered suicide; 3.6% indicated one
suicide attempt, and 4.6% more than one attempt. |
Use of Time
Several questions were asked concerning use of leisure time.
| · |
Of the youth
surveyed, 28.2% reported working at a paying job. |
| · |
25.4% of the
respondents report spending three or more hours per day doing
homework, studying or reading on weekdays after school; in contrast,
27.7% indicated three or more hours per day is spent watching
TV or playing video games on weekdays after school. |
| · |
Over half (51.9%)
of the youth reported doing fun things with their families at
least two or three times per month. |
| · |
42.8% attend
religious services at least one time per month. |
| · |
Over half (52.1%)
indicate participation in extra-curricular activities two or three
times per month. |
| · |
Of the youth
surveyed, 34.0% reported spending some time at friends’ houses
every week without parental supervision. |
Experiences of Agression
Questions about experiences of aggression in the last 12 months resulted
in the following findings:
| · |
Over half of
the respondents (54.6%) reported at least one instance where they
bullied, taunted, ridiculed, or teased someone; 18.8% reported
they participated in this behavior over ten times. |
| · |
Over a third
of the surveyed youth (34.7%) reported that they had said something
bad about someone’s race or culture, with 10.4% doing so
on ten or more occasions. |
| · |
Of the youth
surveyed, 46.0% indicated being bullied, taunted, ridiculed, or
teased at least one time, with 11.8% on ten or more occasions.
|
| · |
Of the youth
surveyed, 8.8% were threatened or injured with a weapon on at
least one occasion. |
| · |
31.4% of the
respondents reported being the victim of cultural bias, while
22.6% reported being the victim of sexual harassment. |
Learning Circle Task Force
Activities
| · |
Learning Circles Gang Initiative |
Mission
To develop comprehensive models, utilizing a variety of problem-solving
programs, to systematically target the hardest to reach children and
youth – particularly those already exhibiting negative behaviors
– and their parents, so that all Fairfax County families have the
opportunity to succeed.
Goals
| · |
To insure that appropriate intervention programs are supported
and expanded to reach all youth exhibiting negative behaviors (and
those identified as at risk of becoming involved in destructive
activities) in order to minimize youth violence and other risky
or delinquent activities. |
| · |
To insure that adequate and effective treatment programs, facilities,
and enforcement sanctions are available for delinquent Fairfax County
teens. |
|