The Jackson County Children's Services Coalition serves Jackson County, Mississippi, the mostly industrialized county in the state and is home to 131,000 residents. The goals of the coalition are to 1) reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults by addressing the factors in Jackson County that increase the risk of substance abuse; and, 2) strengthen the collaboration among communities, governments, and private non-profit agencies to support community coalition efforts to prevent and reduce substance abuse. To achieve these goals, the coalition will implement the following strategies:
1) work with judges to provide alternatives to fines for teen drinking offenses such mandatory community service and/or participation in ATOD prevention training;
2) provide awareness, education, and training of assets to the community and parents on the harmful effects of ATOD;
3) implement Project Northland in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades at three Moss Point schools;
4) expand the media campaign to include ONDCP public services announcements, newspaper articles on ATOD prevention, letters to the editor, participation on a newspaper Red Ribbon Panel, and TV advertisements;
5) increase distribution of the Coalition newsletters;
6) support the activities of the Underage Drinking Task Force;
7) sponsor drug-free alternative activities and education fairs; and,
8) recruit new members to strengthen the coalition.
CA/NCF
