Project Overview:

The DeKalb County Partnership for a Safe, Active and Family Environment’s (DCP/SAFE’s) Social Norms Prevention Projects are based on a model of identifying and reinforcing existing protective norms concerning alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, violence, traffic safety and literacy issues and correcting misinterpretations about community behaviors and norms. The main method of this approach is social marketing, primarily through media and other appropriate channels. This project has been effectively demonstrated by Northern Illinois University’s Health Enhancement Program on the NIU campus during their 12 years of implementation and intervention. This model has also been successfully replicated with success with the Communities Can! Project at DeKalb and Sycamore High Schools.

The major components of these projects target the youth, family and school staff. Most of the expected outcomes focus on increasing pro-social, health positive behaviors, along with increasing more accurate perceptions of community norms. To accomplish this, however, this researched based approach to prevention moves out of the tradition of “curriculum programs” and “scare tactics.” It does not come from an approach “that the experts know what people need and want.” This prevention model is research proven, but the specifics of each strategy vary from population to population based on market analysis of each of the population groups (ie: high school students, parents, teachers, etc).

^{_{This was developed (in part) under a grant 2H79SP11709-06 from the Office of National Drug Control Policy and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Healthy and Human Services and funded in whole or part by the Illinois Department of Human Services. The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of ONDCP, SAMHSA, or HHS.}}