Your planning team is essential to the success of your district's prevention initiative; however, it is likely to be just the first of many partnerships that you establish to support your prevention efforts. In our second online event, Identifying Priorities and Strategies for Your Prevention Initiative, we presented a variety of research-based strategies shown to be effective in reducing substance use and violence among young people. Each of these strategies can be strengthened through partnering with students' families and the larger community. This section describes four ways to incorporate partnerships into your overall prevention plan, and key elements that must be present for these partnerships to be successful.

• Involving Families

• Service Provision

• Enrichment Activities

• Community Awareness

References

Billig, S. H. A Model of K-12 School-Based Service-Learning Mediators and Student Outcomes. Learning In Deed Initiative. Available online at
http://www.learningindeed.org/research/slresearch/model.html.

Billig, S.H. The Impacts of Service-Learning on Youth, Schools and Communities: Research on K-12 School-Based Service-Learning, 1990-1999. Learning in Deed Initiative. Available online at:
http://www.learningindeed.org/research/slresearch/slrsrchsy.html.

Center for Mental Health in Schools. Integrating Mental Health in Schools: Schools, School-Based Health Centers, and Community Programs Working Together. Los Angeles, CA: Center for Mental Health in Schools, School Mental Health Project, University of California at Los Angeles.

Community Tool Box. Arranging News and Feature Stories. (2000). University of Kansas Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development and AHEC/Community Partners in Amherst, Massachusetts. Available online at
http://ctb.lsi.ukans.edu/tools/EN/section_1062.htm.

Community Tool Box. Preparing Press Releases. (2000). University of Kansas Work Group on Health Promotion and Community Development and AHEC/Community Partners in Amherst, Massachusetts. Available online at
http://ctb.lsi.ukans.edu/tools/EN/section_1061.htm.

Epstein, J. L., Coates, L., Salinas, K. C., Sanders, M. G., and Simon, B. S. (1997). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Parent and Family Involvement. Available online at
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/pa0cont.htm.

Strong Families, Strong Schools: Building Community Partnerships for Learning. Based on Strong Families, Strong Schools (1994, September) by Jennifer Ballen and Oliver Moles for the National Family Initiative of the U.S. Department of Education. Available online at
http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/families/strong/.

U.S. Department of Education (1998, October). Yes, You Can: A Guide for Establishing Mentoring Programs to Prepare Youth for College. Washington, DC: Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, U.S. Department of Education.