Patty's planning team may have used some or all of the sources listed below to collect information about the drug- and violence-related problems facing Stanton's middle school students.

Education Statistics

Schools or school districts collect annual data and report findings on suspensions, expulsions, and disciplinary actions related to violence and substance use, such as physical fights and possession, use, or sale of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs on school property. Expect to find information on the reason for the disciplinary action(s), any injuries sustained, the type of substance(s) involved, and the grade of the student(s) involved. Keep in mind, however, that districts may have different ways of determining how to address violations of school rules (e.g., warning, detention, suspension, expulsion), which could make comparisons across schools difficult.

In addition, many schools collect other relevant information, including rates of truancy, absenteeism, and numbers of students enrolled or promoted. Other useful sources of information include school "report cards" (as opposed to individual student report cards) and aggregated standardized test results, which can reveal how well a school is performing as a whole.

Crime Statistics

Crime statistics are available from local police departments. Reports often appear in two sections -- offenses (reported crimes) and arrests. Offenses are the best indicator of the volume of crime occurring in the community. Arrests are a better measure of a police department's response to crime. Information on some types of criminal activities may only be available as arrest data or as reported crimes -- not as both.

Information available from police departments can include the following: arrests for alcohol or drug possession, sale of drugs, drunk driving, liquor law violations, arrests for teen violence, aggravated assault, vandalism, curfew violations, and disorderly conduct.

Court Statistics

The Administrative Office of the Courts (in most states) and other state agencies annually publish court statistics (e.g., convictions for various crimes) by county or district. Such reports may contain information on cases that involved drug-related, alcohol-related, or violent crimes.

Health Statistics

State and county health departments -- especially maternal and child health divisions, medical examiners' offices, and state offices of vital statistics -- collect information on a variety of health indicators, such as causes of disability and disease, deaths related to substance use and violence, and alcohol- or drug-related traffic accidents. Many state health departments also have a division devoted to alcohol and other drug services.

State health departments can also be a good source of information about policies, ordinances, and procedures related to substance abuse and violence prevention (e.g., DUI (driving under the influence) arrests, liquor law violations). They also provide information related to "availability" indicators for alcohol and firearms (e.g., the number of liquor licenses, alcohol outlet locations, and firearm outlet locations). Hospital records -- including hospital admission and discharge records, emergency room and emergency medical services records, and trauma registries -- represent another useful source of health-related data; they can reveal patterns of alcohol- and drug-related illnesses and injuries, as well as other injury and violence patterns in your community.

Political Data

Information on voter participation by congressional district or state is available from the local chapter of the League of Women Voters (http://www.lwv.org/) or from the Congressional Quarterly (http://www.cq.com/). High voter participation is often considered a marker for community cohesion and involvement.

Demographic Data

Census data, available through state and county planning offices and public and university libraries, can be used to determine whether your community has certain risk factors that tend to be associated with substance abuse or violence, such as poverty, unemployment, high crime and divorce rates, a large number of single-parent households, and fluctuations in population. Census data for most cities and towns can be retrieved from the U.S. Census Bureau's website (http://www.census.gov/), though many states and localities have similar information on their own websites as well.

Economic Data

Economic data can provide information about how difficult or easy it is to obtain tobacco, alcohol, or firearms in your region. For example, you can obtain information on retail alcohol, cigarette, and firearm prices from the American Chamber of Commerce Research Association (http://www.accra.org/) and information on alcohol outlet locations through state departments' alcohol beverage control boards (http://www.atf.treas.gov/alcohol/info/faq/subpages/lcb.htm).Similar information on firearm and tobacco outlet locations can be found at local police departments and at state and local departments of public health, respectively.

Other Possible Sources of Information

• Social service agencies generally have records on a variety of relevant issues, including demographic data related to employment, poverty, child abuse, children in foster care, and families receiving public assistance.

• Area college and university researchers may have relevant information about (or current projects that are studying) different aspects of your schools and communities.

• Local newspapers and other media often contain information on local health problems, the state of the schools, and prevention programs and policies.

• Service directories provide contact and other information (e.g., eligibility requirements, hours of operation) for local and regional prevention, treatment programs, and enrichment/recreational programs

• The reference librarian at your local library may have additional resources.

To learn more about collecting information for your needs assessment, visit Using Existing Data to Inform Prevention Program Selection, an online event now archived on the MSC website.