Everyone's Opinion Newsletter

Donna Gority Talks Prevention
By Jeff Neff

Since first taking office as County Commissioner in 1984, Donna Gority has been an advocate for prevention of drug abuse, delinquency, and personal irresponsibility through the use of programs provided by Blair County. She hopes to raise awareness of these programs.

During her first year in office the Board of County Commissioners created the Human Services Office (HSO). This office coordinates efforts with the offices of mental retardation, mental health, drug and alcohol, children and youth; areas which Gority has watched over since the start.

About ten years after the beginning of the HSO, she was part of a team from Blair County that was trained in Communities That Care. They learned what factors place our youth at risk of getting involved with adolescent problem behaviors (substance abuse, juvenile delinquency, youth violence, teen pregnancy, and school dropout)  The team also learned what factors help to protect youth from developing these behaviors.

Gority found that with these problem areas, you either pay now or pay later. She then pushed for prevention programs rather than rehabilitation, especially for programs that have been well researched and have been demonstrated to be effective.

One of these programs for which Commissioner Gority strongly advocates is Big Brothers Big Sisters, which is one of the nationally recognized "Blueprints for Violence Prevention". "This organization matches adults in the community who are willing to serve as mentors with young people."

"You can help a child or adolescent grow into a healthy, productive young adult. They are in particular need of men. It would be ideal for men or couples to become a big brother or sister. There is a screening process and training. This helps give kids from single parent families an opportunity to be in or around a more stable relationship. You can take them to Lakemont or DelGrosso's Park, an Altoona Curve game or even just have a picnic. You don't even have to spend money. It's really about healthy child development."

Another program Gority would like to see more awareness of is the Nurse Family Partnership available through the Home Nursing Agency. This home visiting program works with lower income first-time moms. These mothers are matched up with a nurse who will be with them through their pregnancy and until the child turns two years of age.

The commissioner explains that during a pregnancy is, "when a woman is most likely to change bad behaviors and listen to advice."  This is an opportunity to quit smoking, drinking or using drugs, to make decisions about her personal development for the future, maybe pursuing higher education.

This program's effectiveness is centered on the fact, according to Gority, that nurses are viewed as the most trusted professionals with whom any of us interact.

"The nurse answers questions about health, caring for an infant/toddler and community resources. Long term outcomes are positive, and those kids compared to others in the same demographic turn out much less involved in the children and youth, drug and alcohol, juvenile or even criminal justice systems," Gority said.

"There are a couple school-based programs that we've been struggling to get into the schools. I'm hoping we'll be more successful in the future. The schools have their hands full and I know that, but if they would implement these research based effective programs I believe they would see a positive impact."

One of these school based Blueprints prevention programs is called Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS), it teaches young children how to properly deal with emotions, self-control, how to develop positive peer relationships and interpersonal problem solving.

Gority says, "It would diminish a lot of problems. Both the school and community would be better off.  We've offered training to all of the school districts. Some have taken the training but we don't know for sure if they've ever implemented the program in the classrooms with any fidelity to a model."

Why does Donna Gority feel so strongly about preventing these negative behaviors?  "Getting people on the right path to begin with saves much agony in the future."  She said, "The research behind these programs make them very promising."  We've also implemented a number of the Blueprint programs that help families work more effectively together, even when the youth have begun to exhibit problem behaviors.  These include Multisystemic Therapy, Functional Family Therapy and Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care.  For more information on the Blueprints for Violence Prevention go to www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/

She would like to see the programs expanded and given more support by people, by encouraging community members to support each other through these programs. For now, she says, "I would like to see more awareness."

To find out more information about the Human Services Office and many of the various community agencies and services, please visit: www.hso.blairco.org