PORT ANGELES — Thirteen years after its humble beginnings as a group of six concerned citizens, Prevention Works! of Clallam County has blossomed into a 300-member nonprofit organization that advocates for, educates and invests in children.
Representatives of the volunteer coalition told Clallam County commissioners Monday they are rolling out a five-year prevention plan with the goal of ending child abuse and neglect, substance abuse and violence.
Prevention Works! is geared toward children and teens.
Commissioners Mike Doherty, Mike Chapman and Steve Tharinger indicated they would endorse the prevention plan in today’s business meeting.
Tharinger, who is also a state legislator, has been working from Olympia during the current legislative session and participates in county meetings via telephone speaker.
Norma Turner, a board member of Prevention Works!, said the commissioners’ endorsement is “important at a policy level and for the general public to understand that prevention is a good thing.”
While the prevention plan has tangible goals and performance measures, Turner said it also represents a dream that Clallam County can become a “good place for families and children.”
“One of our big hopes is that by having you endorse [the plan] and by having the community accept it, it’ll be a great source for any agency who wants to apply for grants to say: ‘What we want to do fits with what our entire county wants to see happen,’” Turner said.
Prevention Works! has representatives from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, city police departments, public health agencies and school districts, Turner said.
Jim Borte, project coordinator in the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, said the five-year prevention plan was derived from five focus areas.
They are:
■ Prevention of bullying and cyber-bullying.
■ Early identification of mental health issues in young children.
■ Parenting support and home visiting for children 6 and younger.
■ Centralized information sources for the preservation and treatment resources in the community.
■ Promotion of academic success.
The 29 members of the five committees met last spring and summer to develop work plans and prevention plans, which include the promotion of academic success and reducing violent and aggressive behavior in children and teens.
The focus groups identified challenges such as kids living in poverty, poor academic performance, a high dropout rate, school weapons incidents, youth suicide and crime.
“Clallam County ranks above the state average in a number of areas,” Borte said. “Prevention is probably the best investment we can make for the future of our children and families.”
Tharinger said state Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, has assembled data showing how prevention programs have kept crime rates down during the economic recession.
“It’s pretty interesting because usually in a recession, crime rates shoot up, and they’re flat or even dropping, and people think it is because of these sorts of programs,” Tharinger said.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.