# Presentation: 173901

## Starting Early Starting Smart

***Starting Early Starting Smart***

- Karol L. Kumpfer, Ph.D.  Director, CSAP

## Vision Statement

***Vision Statement***

- 	The Starting Early - Starting Smart program will serve as a vehicle to foster collaboration among select public and private agencies charged with providing physical and mental health promotion and substance abuse prevention and treatment services, social services, and education programs to determine how integrated, multi-disciplinary services planning and early intervention can improve outcomes for young children and their families.

## Need for Early Childhood Collaboration

- Young Children Are Demonstrating Interpersonal, Emotional and Behavioral Problems, And Are Arriving At School With Diminished Intellectual, Social and Emotional School Readiness (Boyer, 1991; Edlefsen & Baird, 1994).
- Needs of Young Children Are Largely Unaddressed, Despite Progress For Older Children (Knitzer, 1996).
- Millions Are Being Raised by Corporations and Foundation to Address Early Childhood Needs, Yet Little Good Research Is Available to Guide Policy or Program Implementation Decisions.

## Need for Early Childhood Collaboration (continued)

***Need for Early Childhood Collaboration ******(continued)***

- Children’s Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems Are Caused by an Interaction Among Individual, Family and Community Factors (Kumpfer & Turner, 1990; CSAP 1998).
- Multiple Services Are Needed Addressing These Multiple Risk and Protective Factors (Bronfenbrenner, cited in Bailey, 1995).

## Guiding Principles

- Create New Knowledge in “Best Practices” to Decrease Problems in Young Children and Families.
- Support Best Practices and Program Accountability to Provide Integrated Behavioral Health.
- Implement Discovered Knowledge Into Practice and System Change in Natural Settings.
- Increase Access to Comprehensive Services That Will Foster Desired Health, Education and Developmental Outcomes While Reducing Risk and Enhancing Resilience.

## Guiding Principles (continued)

- Continually Reassess the Needs, Strengths and Resources Needed to Support Children’s and Families’ Health Development.
- Test Intervention and Integrating Systems Across Diverse Cultures to Determine What Works for Whom.
- Maximize Public/Private Partnerships.
- Build Consensus Among All Collaborators.

## Pathways to Substance Abuse in High Risk Youth

- .76

- (n=8,576)

**Academic **
**Self-Efficacy**

- .24

- .70

- .19

**Self-Control**

**Family **
**Supervision**

**Family **
**and Peer **
**Norms**

**No**
**Substance **
**Use**

- .59

- .40

- -.88

**Family **
**Bonding**

- .14

**Social and **
**Community **
**Prevention **
**Environment**

***Pathways to Substance Abuse ******in High Risk Youth***

## Pathways to Substance Abuse in High Risk Youth

**Substance **
**Use**

**Family **
**Supervision**

**Family **
**and Peer **
**Norms**

**Family **
**Bonding**

***Pathways to Substance Abuse ******in High Risk Youth***

## Starting Early Starting Smart Outcome Measures

- Children
- Child Attachment/Bonding to Parent/Caregiver
- Behavioral Competence
- Social Competence
- School Readiness
- Parent/Caregiver
- Substance Abuse
- Psychological Functioning
- Planning and Life Skills
- Cohesive Family Functioning
- Employment/Education Status

## Expected Outcomes from Multisite Funding and Integration of Services

***Expected Outcomes from Multisite Funding and Integration of Services***

- Services Integration Will Lead to Increased Access and Availability of Prevention Activities, Substance Abuse Treatment, and Mental Health Services for Young Children and Their Families.
- Children’s Development Will Improve Cognitively, Socially, Emotionally and Physically.
- Parents and Children Will Improve Their Life Skills, Family Functioning and Interaction With Community Service Systems.
- Communities Will Be Strengthened.
- Programs Will Receive Sustained Public and Private Community Support After Federal Support Ends.