Communities That Care - Newsletter

Bradford County Communities That Care

Monthly Newsletter – January 2010

Voluntary Drug Testing:
The start of school usually includes many activities for students including meeting new teachers, learning new schedules, attending football and soccer games. For some students that also means joining new clubs and groups.

But in some schools it also means an opportunity for students to do something positive for themselves. It allows them an excuse to become drug and alcohol free.They are part of the Voluntary Drug Testing programs that schools in Bradford County have committed to making available to their students. Students in the Canton and Sayre School Districts have had this opportunity for the past 3 years. The Towanda Jr./Sr. High School started this program four years ago with their seventh grade students.

The program is voluntary and the students also need parent permission. Students are tested at the beginning the school year. There are then random drug tests throughout the year. Students receive incentives for passing the tests. Some of the incentives include free school sports passes and gift certificationes to the school store. Local community merchants also support the program by providing such things as discounts on purchases at their business or gift certificates.

By providing this type of program to students the goal is to reduce the percentage of students who experiment with alcohol and/or other drugs at an early age and also to reduce the percentage of students who begin to use at all. Are you interested in helping the students in your community.

PAYS (PA Youth Survey):
What is PAYS? That is a question that many people may be asking. PAYS stands for Pennsylvania Youth Survey that is administered every two years to 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th grader students. The seven school districts in Bradford County have participated in this survey since 1999. In the beginning, 6th grade students were not surveyed but over the years more and more school districts are allowing their 6th graders to be surveyed. Research shows that more and more students are starting to experiment with alcohol and other drugs at an early age. The information that is obtained from the surveys helps Communities that Care and the local drug and alcohol program, as well as schools, to develop plans for prevention services.


Law Enforcement Training – Controlled Party Dispersal:
Law Enforcement Training was held on September 23rd at Alparon Park in Troy, PA. Twenty-one law enforcement officers from Bradford County and surrounding areas participated in this training which revolved around safely and effectively closing down an underage drinking party. In order to assist the officers with what they learned, 30 high school students from Troy High School played the role of “underage drinkers.” The teens were very open and candid with the officers about their performance. It was a great opportunity for both the officers and the students who participated. Thank you to the PA Liquor Control Board for providing the trainers and the materials.

Partners in Family & Community Development's Poverty Task Group launches new service!   The VITA Program is a FREE tax preparation service for families or individuals who have worked in the past year and earned less than $49,000.00.  If you qualify please call for an appointment.  We have volunteers who have been trained and certified by the IRS.  This program is supported by the IRS and is available to anyone whose income does not exceed $49,000.00.  The volunteers are trained to do basic and intermediate tax forms and look forward to serving you.  Please call us to make an appointment - call (570) 265-6246.  The tax preparation appointments will be at Lackawanna College in Towanda and are available on a first-come first-serve basis so please give us a call today.  We look forward to assisting you with your tax preparation!

PFCD Launches New Website

PFCD launches its new website this month!  We hope that you like our site and will share your opinion with us.  The plan is to keep Partners apprised of task group activities and programs and any pertinent information through this blog.  If you should have anything that you would like added please contact our office.  We hope that you enjoy our new website.  Please feel free to share suggestions with us about the website and its content.  Thank you. 

PA State Budget Passes!

How does this affect PFCD?  For 2009-2010 we were approved for a Community Engagement Grant through the PA Department of Public Welfare and we were approved for a Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Funds from the PA. Commission on Crime and Delinquency.  Both of these grants were funded with no reductions.  Unfortunately, Nurse-Family Partnership was not so fortunate.  Nurse-Family Partnerships across the state will be facing a reduction.  What does this mean for Bradford County, we will receive a 2.8% reduction in funding.  We are currently discussing ways we can decrease costs but continue to provide quality services to those we serve.  PFCD will continue to work with Partners to ensure that the reduction in funds and services will not significantly impact our Bradford County families.