Needs Assessment Report
Northern Utah Substance Abuse
Prevention Team
2016
Table of Contents
Community Description ....................................................................... 2
Coalition Description ........................................................................... 4
Needs Assessment ............................................................................. 5
Purpose of Needs Assessment .......................................................... 7
Summary of Data ................................................................................ 8
Summary of Assessment .................................................................. 13
Discussion ........................................................................................ 14
Community Description
The Community: Defined
Cache County is an agricultural valley of northern Utah, immediately south of
Idaho. It covers 1,164.81 square miles of territory. It is bordered by Rich County, home
of Bear Lake, and Box Elder County. Together, the three of these counties are served
by the Bear River Health Department. Michel Bourdon, a French Canadian trapper,
discovered Cache Valley in 1818. The valley was subsequently used for annual
gatherings of mountain men. The name “Cache Valley” was derived by the fur trappers
who hid their trading goods in caches in the region. William Gardner, a Mormon pioneer,
became the first settler in 1852. A Mormon settler group led by Peter Maughan arrived
via Box Elder Canyon (Sardine Canyon) in July 1856, the year that the county was
established.
Currently, Cache County is served by two hospitals: Logan Regional Hospital,
part of Intermountain Healthcare, and Cache Valley Hospital, recently acquired by
Mountain Star Healthcare. The main law enforcement agencies are the Cache County
Sheriff's Department and Logan City Police Department; however many of the smaller
towns have local police departments. Cache County is governed by a seven-member
county council. At the end of 2016, all of the county elected officials were members of
the Republican Party.
There are two highways that pass through the county, US Routes 89 and 91.
Cache Valley Transit District serves the community with its bus routes. It is free of
charge and travels to the majority of the county.
Points of Interest
A very important feature of the community is Utah State University. Founded in
1888, Utah State University has evolved from a small-town college tucked away in the
northern Utah mountains to a thriving research university, respected around the world. It
was recognized in 2014 as the number two public university in the West for lowest
tuitions, and number four in the nation. It offers 168 undergraduate degrees and 143
graduate degrees.
The Logan Tabernacle and Logan Temple are significant features in this
community. About 83% of the people are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saint religion, and these two venues are important religious buildings to that
group. In addition, many events are held at the tabernacle that are enjoyed by the entire
community. The tabernacle was built from 1864 to 1881, and the temple from 1877 to
1893.
Winter sports are another activity that the citizens of this mountain community
value. Cache Valley is home to two ski resorts, Beaver Mountain and Cherry Peak.
Many community members refer to these ski resorts as Cache Valley’s “best kept
secret”. This is most likely due to the relatively close proximity to other, larger ski
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resorts. Logan lies within a two-hour drive of eleven major ski resorts, many of which
hosted sites for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and attract many tourists to the area.
Communities within The Community
Cache County is made up of many cities, towns, and rural villages. The cities are
Hyde Park, Hyrum, Lewiston, Logan (county seat), Mendon, Millville, Nibley, North
Logan, Providence, Richmond, River Heights, Smithfield, and Wellsville. The towns are
Amalga, Clarkston, Cornish, Newton, Paradise, and Trenton. The villages are Avon,
Benson, Cache Junction, Cove, and Petersboro. Of these 24 areas, 19 have active
mayors which help maintain and govern the areas.
School System in The Community
There are two school districts in Cache County. Logan City School District is the
smaller of the two. It serves 6,232 youth: 100 pre-kindergarten children at one pre-K
school, 3,088 kindergarten to fifth grade children in six elementary schools, 1,315 sixth
to eighth grade students in one middle school, and 1,729 ninth to twelfth grade students
in one high school.
Cache County School District serves 15,816 youth: 261 pre-kindergarten children
at one pre-K school, 7,506 kindergarten to fifth grade children in 16 elementary schools,
2,428 sixth to seventh grade students in four middle schools, 2,319 eighth to ninth
grade students in two junior highs, and 3,302 tenth to twelfth grade students in three
high schools. Of the three high schools, two are traditional, and one is an alternative
high school serving approximately 100 students. An additional traditional high school
will be added to Cache County School District in fall of 2016.
The Community: Geographically
Cache Valley is surrounded on the western edge by the Wellsville Mountains and
on the eastern side by the Bear River Mountains, both northern branches of the
Wasatch Range. It is also home to the Cache National Forest, a protected area by the
Federal Government. The county climbs to an elevation of 9,980 ft at Naomi Peak in the
Bear River Mountains. However, without the mountains, the average elevation of the
county is 4,778 feet.
The Community: Demographically
As of the 2010 Census, there were 112,656 people, 34,722 households, and
26,464 families residing in the county. The population density is 96.7 people per square
mile. The racial/ethnic composition of the county was 89.12% White, 0.62% Black or
African American, 0.61% Native American, 1.88% Asian, 0.39% Pacific Islander, 5.48%
from other races, and 1.90% from two or more races. 9.96% of the population was
Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 34,722 households within the county limits, 41.34% had children under the
age of 18 living with them, 76.22% were married couples living together, 7.73% had a
female head of house with no husband present, and 23.78% were non-family
households. Just over 16% of all households were made up of single family households
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that either share a home (with non-family roommates) or live alone, and 5.54% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average family size was
3.55 people. The age of those living in Cache County was spread out, with 36.3% under
20 years of age, 12.59% from age 20 to 24, 26.97% from age 25 to 44, 16.41% from
age 45 to 64, and 7.72% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25.5
years. For every 100 females there were 98.84 males.
There is a rate of 92.5% of adults age 25 or older with a high school diploma or
GED, and 36.9% of adults age 25 or older with a bachelor's degree or higher. The
median household income is $49,506 and 16.6% of the population is below the poverty
line.
Coalition Description
The Coalition: Defined
The Northern Utah Substance Abuse Prevention Team (NUSAPT) was started in
2001 as part of the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG).
The purpose of the SPF-SIG grant was to help grantees build capacity for delivering
and sustaining effective substance abuse prevention. Later NUSAPT was awarded the
Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant, which builds on the SPF-SIG and furthered the
coalition’s capacity to follow the SPF process and implement effective strategies. The
mission of NUSAPT is to optimize community resources in order to prevent alcohol,
tobacco, and other drug misuse and abuse across the lifespan with a primary focus on
youth. NUSAPT will also monitor all forms of drug abuse, including the underage use of
legal drugs, the use of illegal drugs, and the inappropriate use of legally obtained
substances.
There are 12 sectors, or areas, of the community that the coalition aims to have
representation from, at a minimum. Those sectors are youth, parents, business
community, media, schools, youth serving organizations, law enforcement, religious or
fraternal organizations, civic and volunteer groups, healthcare professionals, state/local
agencies with expertise in the field of substance abuse, and other organizations
involved in substance abuse.
Currently, NUSAPT has regular attendance from the following agencies: Citizens
Against Physical & Sexual Abuse (CAPSA), Utah State University, Cache County
School District PTA, Cache Valley Media Group, Family Information and Resource
Center, Bear River Health Department, Cache County Sheriff's Office, Logan City Police
Department, Logan City Schools, City of Logan, Spence’s Pharmacy, Bear River Mental
Health, Logan Regional Hospital, Cache Community Connections, Utah Office of
Guardian ad Litem, and the Juvenile Court of the State of Utah. The coalition also works
closely with the Bear River Governing Youth Council (GYC), a youth advocacy group
that has representation from 16 schools in Cache and Box Elder counties.
The Coalition: Activities
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To best address substance abuse issues in the community, NUSAPT utilizes the
Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) to help guide the coalition’s activities. The SPF
process is a method for planning, implementing, and evaluating effective evidencebased prevention efforts. NUSAPT focuses on risk and protective factors (which will be
discussed below), and the coalition’s main goal is to reduce overall substance abuse in
the community by preventing youth use of alcohol and other drugs.
Alcohol is typically the number one drug of choice among youth in the
community, therefore, the primary focus of NUSAPT has been underage drinking
prevention. Largely, the coalition has focused on providing education to youth and to
parents as a way to address underage drinking. ParentsEmpowered is a statewide
awareness campaign designed to prevent underage drinking by giving parents and
guardians information about alcohol’s harmful effects on the developing teen brain, and
by teaching parents proven skills for preventing underage alcohol use. NUSAPT has
brought this awareness campaign to Cache County and made it local through
partnerships with local grocery stores, restaurants, schools, media groups, and Utah
State University Athletics. In conjunction with the Bear River Health Department and
local law enforcement, NUSAPT also supports alcohol compliance checks and shoulder
tap operations.
NUSAPT has addressed prescription drug abuse in the community by localizing
the statewide Use Only as Directed campaign, organizing and conducting prescription
take back events, and by placing permanent take-back boxes at several police and city
offices throughout the county.
Needs Assessment
Background
As part of the SPF process, NUSAPT is conducting a community assessment to
ensure that strategies, decisions, and programs implemented by the coalition are data
driven and address the key substance abuse issues in the community. Due to several
factors, including the DFC grant cycle ending for NUSAPT and the release of the 2015
Student Health And Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey data, the coalition saw a need for
an assessment to help update the coalition action plan and drive future efforts.
History of the Model
NUSAPT set out with the intentions of following the Communities That Care
(CTC) model of assessment, which focuses heavily on risk and protective factors and
brings with it evidence-based results. As NUSAPT got more involved in the process, it
became clear that the coalition needed to blend the CTC model with the Community
Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) model. CADCA’s model (from the National
Coalition Academy) adds a layer beyond risk and protection that asks the question, “But
why here?”. In addition, it focuses more on a population-level change through
environmental strategies instead of program implementation among individuals with the
identified risk factors. The CADCA model also places more emphasis on particular
substances than the CTC model does. NUSAPT felt it was important to address risk and
protective factors through the CTC model, but also felt that the coalition can provide
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greater community change by following CADCA’s model of implementing environmental
strategies.
Risk and Protective Factors
Both the CTC and CADCA models rely on the understanding of risk and
protection as a way to reduce substance abuse problems in a community. There are
many factors which influence a person’s chance of developing a substance abuse
disorder. Effective prevention focuses on reducing the risk factors and strengthening the
protective factors that are most closely related to the problem being addressed.
The CTC model follows Hawkins et al Risk/Protection Factor model, which
addresses risk and protection across four domains. These four domains are:
community, family, school, and peer-individual. As shown in the table below, each
domain has identified risk and protective factors.
To reduce substance abuse issues in a community, that community needs to
reduce the risks that are identified as high and increase the protective factors that have
been identified as low. As risk decreases and protection increases, the likelihood for
problem behaviors to occur is reduced.
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Purpose of Needs Assessment
Goals and Prioritization
The purpose of conducting the needs assessment is to identify and best meet the
needs of the community. Identifying and prioritizing substance use, problem behaviors,
and mental health status rates, and looking at contributing risk and protective factors will
assist our community in delivering resources where they are most needed. Prevention
strategies, activities and programs will be identified to best fit the population and areas
of concern. Prevention resources are limited. It is imperative that efforts are tailored to
the community, and that they are as effective as possible. Including community partners
in this process invites varied perspectives, perceptions, data sources, and resources.
This is crucial to effectively meeting the needs of the community.
Data Utilized
Data from a variety of sources was looked at during the assessment process and
included data from the Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey,
juvenile court data, police data, and consequence data from Utah’s Indicator-Based
Information System (IBIS Utah), and State Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup
(SEOW) webpages. The Data Workgroup, which was created to sift through the data
and narrow results down for the larger coalition, decided it would focus largely on the
SHARP data and use the other sources as a way to verify or refute the SHARP data.
The SHARP survey is a school based survey administered to students in grades
6, 8, 10,and 12 in 37 school districts and 18 charter and private schools across the
target community, as well as the State of Utah, every other year. The survey serves as
an indicator of the levels of substance abuse, risk, protection, antisocial behavior,
mental health/suicide risk, academic issues and other prevention-related topics. Three
partnering agencies work together to make this survey a viable tool in Utah. Those
agencies are the Utah State Office of Education, Utah Department of Health, and the
Utah Department of Human Services, Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health.
Results from the SHARP survey are compiled in reports by school districts,
counties and health districts. NUSAPT examined the Cache County SHARP report,
which combines both the Logan and Cache school districts. The data allowed the
coalition to look at current rates, to make comparisons to identify trends across the
target population, and to compare rates to state and national norms.
The most recent survey was administered during the spring of 2015, reaching a
total of 4,272 students in the county from the following grades:
● A total of 1,368 students (6th grade) completed the survey, representing 32% of
students
● A total of 1,163 students (8th grade) completed the survey, representing 27.2%
of students
● A total of 1,021 students (10th grade) completed the survey, representing 23.9%
of students
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● A total of 720 students (12th grade) completed the survey, representing 16.9% of
students
Priority Identification
As the NUSAPT data committee reviewed the data, several factors were noted:
● rates showing a sharp increase or decrease
● rates at or exceeding State rates
● rates showing an increasing or decreasing trend
● identifiable changes due to potential policy, law or implemented strategies
The committee then identified and prioritized risk and protective factors, with efforts
to address factors across the multiple areas of concern, and presented the results to the
entire coalition for further discussion.
Summary of Data
Substance Use Problem Prioritization
Cache County as a community has relatively low youth substance use rates
across the board. Almost all substance use patterns tracked by the SHARP survey are
below the state average, with a few at or just above the state average. Heroin, ecstasy,
and steroid use are almost non-existent within the community. Also worth noting are the
low cigarette and chewing tobacco rates. In total, the BRHD looked at 19 different
substances that are identified in the SHARP survey for prioritization, with the focus
being on 7 substances that include: alcohol, cigarettes, e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco,
marijuana, prescription narcotic abuse, and any prescription drug abuse.
All Grades 9 8 7 6 2011 5 2013 4 2015 3 State 2 1 0 Alcohol Cigarettes e-­‐cig Marijuana Rx Inhalants Despite low substance rates, the community still has some areas of concern.
Alcohol use is a concern and is usually the number one drug of choice for Cache Valley
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youth. Alcohol use at a young age can be particularly troublesome due to the harmful
effects on the brain and the increased risk for addiction. Marijuana use had been an
emerging issue for the community, but saw declines in the 2015 survey. Prevalence
remains relatively high, and with perception of harm continuing to drop, the BRHD still
has concerns surrounding marijuana use. While prescription narcotic use remains low,
the BRHD has seen recent increases in overall prescription drug abuse.
Prevelance 10 9 8 Alcohol 7 E-­‐cig 6 Marijuana 5 All Rx 4 Inhalants 3 2 Stimulant 1 Sedative 0 6th grade 8th grade 10th grade 12th grade All grades A rising issue within the community is the rapid increase of e-cigarette use. Ecigarettes are the only substance in the community that had a large increase. They
have become the second most used substance among youth, and in some grades, the
most used substance. E-cigarettes pose an interesting problem for the community.
While some adults might think vaping is a safer alternative to smoking, the risks of
nicotine addiction are still there, and are of particular concern for youth. Nicotine is a
psychoactive and addictive substance that directly interferes with all brain areas
involved in emotional and cognitive processing. Since the adolescent brain is still
developing, youth who are exposed to nicotine are more susceptible and vulnerable to
addiction and to lasting brain cell loss and damage. E-cigarettes are neither healthy nor
safe. E-cigarettes also provide an alternative method to deliver and hide other drug use
such as marijuana. It can be hard to identify what is being vaped in one of these
devices, which make them enticing to youth who are looking to hide their use.
With these factors in mind, NUSAPT has decided to focus on underage alcohol
use as its main priority. Marijuana, and prescription drug abuse will also be priority
areas for the coalition. Though e-cigarettes are being addressed by other groups and
resources in the community, the coalition decided to join those efforts as well. High
prevalence, a huge jump in youth use over the last few years, the fact that students can
vape almost anything in an e-cigarette, combined with the grave and lasting problems
that can come from youth use are some of the reasons the coalition chose to identify ecigarettes as an additional priority.
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Trends 16 14 12 10 8 10th grade Sedative Stimulant Inhalants All Rx Marijuana E-­‐cig Alcohol Sedative Stimulant 2015 0 Inhalants 2 All Rx 2013 Marijuana 4 E-­‐cig 2011 Alcohol 6 12th grade Risk and Protection Prioritization
Cache County has relatively low risk and high protection when compared to state
and national averages. Youth in Cache County tend to have a positive influence on one
another as shown by some of the county’s low risk factors. The percentage of students
with the risk factor of Friends’ Use of Drugs has been decreasing since 2011 and is well
below the state average. Early Initiation of Drug Use has held steady since 2011 and
remains well below the state average. Cache County continues to be above state and
national averages in Religiosity, which is a positive protective factor for youth. The
percentage of students reporting Rewards for Pro-social Involvement (peer-individual
domain) as a protective factor has increased every year since 2011 and is now one of
the top protective factors.
Risk Factors 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 6th grade 8th grade 10th grade 12th grade all grades 10
The BRHD prioritized 5 risk factors and 2 protective factors. Low Commitment to
School had the highest prevalence among all grades while also increasing in
prevalence every year since 2011. Depressive Symptoms also had high prevalence and
remained fairly stable in prevalence across all grades since 2011.
Other risk factors that were prioritized include Low Neighborhood Attachment,
Family Conflict, and Poor Family Management. Pro-social Involvement, Rewards for
Pro-social Involvement (school and family domains), and Interaction with Pro-social
Peers were the protective factors that were considered for prioritization.
Protective Factors 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 6th grade 8th grade 10th grade 12th grade rewards for Opportunities rewards for prosocial for prosocial prosocial involvement involvement involvement (family) (school) (school) prosocial involvement all grades Risk factor prioritized list:
1. Low Commitment to School
2. Depressive Symptoms
3. Low Neighborhood Attachment
4. Rebelliousness
5. Parental Attitudes Favorable to Antisocial Behavior
Prioritized protective factors
1. Opportunities for Pro-social Involvement (school domain)
2. Rewards for Pro-social Involvement (school domain)
First Priority Risk Factor: Low Commitment to School
Definition: Low Commitment to School can be defined by how important a student feels
his school work is, and the likelihood that what they are learning is important to their
future. Students that hate being at school, miss a lot of days of school, and/or do not do
their best work, have Low Commitment to School. Students that have a Low
Commitment to School are more at risk for developing alcohol and drug problems along
with other problem behaviors.
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Rationale: This risk factor was the most consistent in recent increases across all
grades. Three of the 4 grades surveyed have an increasing trend since 2011. Low
commitment to school had the highest prevalence with the exception of perceived
availability of handguns.
Second Priority Risk Factor: Depressive Symptoms
Definition: Youth that feel like life isn’t worth it, that they are no good or a failure, or that
feel sad or depressed most days, are at higher risk for substance abuse problems.
Rationale: Depressive Symptoms was one of the more prevalent risk factors across all
of the grades. It also had not been declining in prevalence since 2011. Research shows
that risk factors in the individual domain may be a higher predictor of risk than factors in
other domains (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2518980/).
Third Priority Risk Factor: Low Neighborhood Attachment
Definition: Low Neighborhood Attachment can be defined as not liking the
neighborhood, wanting to get out of the neighborhood, or not missing the neighborhood
if moving.
Rationale: Over the last several years the percentage of youth in each grade that have
this risk factor has remained consistent. It is also one of the more prevalent risk factors
in the county.
Fourth Priority Risk Factor: Rebelliousness
Definition: Youth that ignore the rules, that deliberately do things to get people mad, and
that try to get away with as much as possible, have increased risk for drug and alcohol
use.
Rationale: Rebelliousness is a fairly prevalent risk factor in 10th and 12th grades, which
are also the grades that we see the highest drug and alcohol use. The number of youth
that have this risk factor has also been staying relatively stable over the last several
years.
Fifth Priority Risk Factor: Parental Attitudes Favorable to Antisocial Behavior
Definition: When a child feels that their parents don’t think antisocial behaviors (such as
stealing, vandalism, and fighting) are wrong, that child becomes more at risk for
substance abuse.
Rationale: Parents play a large role in whether or not their child uses drugs or alcohol.
There is opportunity in the community to not only provide education to parents about
setting rules for alcohol and drugs, but also to remind them how parent attitudes toward
other behaviors can put children at risk for drug and alcohol use.
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First Priority Protective Factor: Rewards for Pro-social Involvement (school domain)
Definition: Providing positive feedback to students and parents when a student has
done a good job. Students feel that school is safe and teachers notice when students
have put in hard work and performed successfully.
Rationale: Rewards for Pro-social Involvement at the school level had one of the lower
prevalence rates among protective factors. It is also worth noting that Opportunities for
Pro-social Involvement had relatively high prevalence, while Rewards for Pro-social
Involvement is lower. This may be an area that the community could impact and
increase.
Second Priority Protective Factor: Opportunities for Pro-social Involvement
Definition: Students have opportunities to be active and involved at their school. This
can be through clubs, sports, other extracurricular activities It can also be through
engagement with teachers, the opportunity to be involved in special projects, and
deciding class activities or rules.
Rationale: Although a high majority of Cache County youth report having this protective
factor compared to the other protective factors looked at by the coalition, the coalition
felt they might have a greater effect on impacting protective factors in the school
domain.
When prioritizing, the coalition focused on prevalence, trend, overall impact across all
grades, comparison to state averages, and the ability to address the risk and protective
factor. The final approval process involved discussion and voting on each factor, with
the final prioritized list taken to the full coalition for approval.
Summary of Assessment
Assessing the community’s needs, identifying trends, and recognizing available
resources are the main focus of this assessment. Building and strengthening community
partnerships to reflect many sectors, as well as utilizing tools like the SHARP survey,
will aid this effort in capturing the current climate of the community.
Religiosity and Rewards for Pro-social Involvement (peer-individual domain)
have proven to be strong protective factors for Cache County, with more students
reporting these as factors every year since 2011. They continue to be above state and
national averages.
Though Cache County has relatively low youth substance use rates, underage
drinking, youth marijuana use, and any prescription drug abuse are still a concern and
the increasing rates of youth e-cigarette use is alarming. To keep rates low and to
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protect the community, the following will be considered priority areas for the coalition to
address.
Community priorities include:
Substances
● Alcohol
● E-cigarettes
● Marijuana
● Prescription drugs
Risk Factors
● Low Commitment to School
● Depressive Symptoms
● Low Neighborhood Attachment
● Rebelliousness
● Parental Attitudes Favorable to Antisocial Behavior
Protective Factors
● Opportunities for Pro-social Involvement
● Rewards for Pro-social Involvement
Discussion
With the community assessment completed, the next step for NUSAPT includes
creating a strategic action plan to address the prioritized risk and protective factors. As
part of this process, NUSAPT will need to do a resource assessment to determine what
resources are already available in the community. This will help identify possible gaps
within the community. By identifying current resources and gaps and by creating a
comprehensive strategic plan, NUSAPT will be better able to utilize its resources to
affect positive change.
Through focusing on risk and protective factors and implementing evidencebased programs and environmental strategies, it is the goal of the coalition to reduce
youth 30-day alcohol use from 4.1% to 2.1%, e-cigarette use from 4.5% to 3.5%, youth
marijuana use from 2.8% to 2% and prescription drug abuse from 2.3% to 1.5% by the
year 2027.
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