About Communities That Care (CTC)
CTC guides the community's prevention efforts through a five-phase process which includes:
Get Started—Assessing community readiness to undertake collaborative prevention efforts.
Get Organized—Getting a commitment to the CTC process from community leaders and forming a diverse and representative prevention coalition.
Develop a Profile—Using data to assess prevention needs.
Create a Plan—Choosing tested and effective prevention policies, practices, and programs based on assessment data.
Implement and Evaluate—Implementing the new strategies with fidelity, in a manner congruent with the programs' theory, content, and methods of delivery, and evaluating progress over time.
CTC activities are planned and carried out by the CTC Community Board, a prevention coalition of community stakeholders who work together to promote positive youth outcomes.
Working through the five phases of CTC provides the opportunity to increase communication, collaboration, and ownership among community members and service providers invested in healthy youth development.
ABOUT CHELTENHAM CTC
Pennsylvania initiated a comprehensive plan to implement CTC projects throughout the state in the mid-1990s. The effort was spearheaded by the Governor's Partnership for Children and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).
Family Services of Montgomery County, in partnership with key community leaders, received a grant in the fall of 2013 to replicate the CTC model in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County. Recruitment of interested community stakeholders is ongoing.
Risk Factors for Cheltenham Youth
The Cheltenham CTC Prevention Board has identified four priority risk factors that can lead youth in the Cheltenham/West Oak Lane area to engage in problem behaviors:
Favorable Attitudes Toward Antisocial Behavior
Antisocial behavior involves a broad range of actions that include, but are not limited to: communicating dishonestly with others, gambling/betting, acting aggressively towards adults or peers, destroying property, attacking someone with an intent to cause harm, selling illegal drugs, and attending school while drunk or high.
Depressive Symptoms
Mental health disorders, such as stress, anxiety, and depression (among others), can disrupt school performance, harm relationships, and lead to drug use and problem behaviors. Unfortunately, ongoing stigmas regarding mental health disorders can present barriers to youth in terms of their receiving effective treatment as well as needed support from family and friends.
Favorable Attitudes Toward Drug/Substance Use
Youth can be motivated to accept, try, and use drugs/substances based on curiosity, peer pressure, and use by friends, as well as attempts to cope with mental health issues, family conflict, bullying, and disappointments. Moreover, youth in families where parents use illegal drugs, are heavy users of alcohol, or are tolerant of their children’s use are at a higher risk for becoming drug/substance users during adolescence.
Perceived Risk of Drugs/Substance Use
The perceived risk of harm associated with drugs/substance use is considered to be an important determinant for youth when deciding whether or not to use alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs
Cheltenham CTC provides prevention education through forums, presentations, community events and outreach, and resources.
In addition, Cheltenham CTC offers a series of programmatic strategies to assist schools and families in helping youth to avoid problematic behavior.
Cheltenham CTC Mission and Vision
Our Mission: To engage and empower youth, families, and the community, through prevention and education, to make healthy choices.
Our Vision: A positive, healthy, and caring community for youth and families.