Programs
Arizona Youth Partnership has made great strides in reaching Arizona’s children and families through prevention programming. During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, 32,008 children, youth, and adults participated in AzYP’s excellent scientific-based programs designed to teach youth how to make healthy decisions; increase relationship skills of couples and parents; and create healthy communities free of alcohol and substance abuse. Below is a list of our programs.
Life Skills Education
The Life Skills Education program combines two scientifically-proven effective life skills curricula, Changing Scenes: Teen Outreach Program and Botvin’s LifeSkills Training to increase school attachment and to increase delay and refusal skills for youth 10-14 years of age. Both programs increase life management skills that are essential for youth self-sufficiency. Research has shown that youth who participate in 20 or more hours of a program are less likely to engage in high risk behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, violence, skipping school, and early sexual activity. Over 1,200 5th to 8th grade youth participated in AzYP Life Skills Education classes in the nine AzYP communities of Ajo, Catalina, Kingman, Lake Havasu City, Marana, Snowflake, Springerville, St. Johns, and Tohono O’odham Nation.
Healthy Relationship Education
Healthy Relationship Education focuses on teaching youth, 12-18 years of age, refusal and delay skills to prevent early sexual activity. Families For Families™ is a network of families that focuses on abstinence issues and parent-child communication. Parents learn how to communicate with their children about critical life issues. The short-term benefits of Abstinence Education are: increased ability to refuse/delay early sex, maintenance of long-term commitment to abstinence until marriage, and increased parent-child communication around abstinence. Long-term benefits include reduced sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and birth rates by teens. Over 10,000 youth and parents participated in abstinence education in the 22 communities of Ajo, Bullhead City, Catalina, Concho, Eagar, Globe, Marana, Miami, Oracle, Pinetop, Rio Rico, Robles Junction, Sahaurita, Sanders, Show Low, Snowflake, Springerville, St. Johns, Tohono O’odham, Tucson, Superior, and Vernon.
Wake UP!™ Alcohol & Drug Prevention Education Program
Wake Up!is a proven best practice prevention education program with the overall goal to change participants’ belief systems about drugs and alcohol to reduce recidivism rates. Wake Up! is an 8-hour alcohol and drug educational prevention program that is implemented in four sessions. This four-session program targets 12 to 22 year-old drug and alcohol offenders referred by the courts. The youth participants receive a certificate of completion that is also sent to their Juvenile Court probation officer who referred them to the program. Over 120 youth completed all sessions in Pima and Apache Counties.
Community Coalitions
The focus of AzYP’s five community coalitions in Ajo, Catalina, Globe, Kingman, and Marana have been working on implementing strategies that will impact community attitudes, perceptions, norms, and beliefs around alcohol and other drugs to decrease laws, norms, and policies favorable to substance use and abuse. AzYP coalitions involve community leaders and key stakeholders from key sectors of the community to craft and implement initiatives to prevent, reduce, and treat substance abuse in the neighborhoods and regions in which they live.
Youth Advisory Councils and Youth Empowered for Success Teams
The Youth Advisory Councils are designed to promote youth leadership to community coalitions by focusing on the reduction of laws, norms, and policies favorable to substance abuse and other issues concerning alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Youth Empowered for Success (YES) teams purposely engage students and staff in prevention-oriented initiatives to improve conditions on high school campuses. Over 100 youth participated in the Youth Advisory Councils and YES Teams in Ajo, Marana, and Tohono O’odham Nation.
After School Programs
AzYP's after school programs in Ajo and Catalina provide academic, social, and recreational enrichment for youth in elementary and middle school. Youth are provided with homework and tutoring assistance as well as skill-building activities, arts and crafts, snacks, and life skills education. Over 90 youth participated in the After School Programs.
Healthy Marriages/Strong Families
The Healthy Marriages/Strong Families program teaches participants to increase communication and conflict resolution skills, increase marital satisfaction and emotional intimacy; and increase family bonding using the PAIRS For Life curriculum. The program is for couples who have children enrolled in the Head Start program and who are in a committed relationship with their partner, fiancé, or spouse. Over 100 couples in five counties have participated in Healthy Marriages.
