Project SafetyNet
Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education
Who would participate?
Project Objectives
Evaluation Plan
Specific data (surveys, archival records, school
records, etc.) to be gathered
Is this project technically and financially
feasible?
Plans for Future Funding and Project Sustainability
Introduction
When the resources available to address the needs of "at risk"
youth are limited, the need to focus these resources on programs that "work"
is greatly increased. So too is the need for organizations and agencies
dealing with the problems of drug abuse and violence prevention to work
closely in concert. Information about successful prevention programs, especially
the need to focus on identified risk and protective factors in community-wide
programs, needs to be more broadly available to educators, students, community
leaders, and decision-makers if appropriate and cost-effective decisions
are to be made in the design of programs addressing problems of violence
and drug use among "at-risk" youth.
In Project SafetyNet, the Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education will
serve as a coordinating resource center for the Alabama Violence Prevention
Consortium, an inclusive statewide network already representing over sixty
public and private schools and school systems, non-profit organizations,
and government agencies involved in violence prevention, substance abuse
prevention, community and parental education, and services to "at risk"
youth.
SafetyNet will design, pilot, and implement a low-cost resource and
information network for schools, school systems, organizations, agencies,
and individuals to quickly and inexpensively share knowledge, expertise,
resources, and experience developed among their projects and/or available
from other similar programs statewide and nationally.
SafetyNet organizations will be linked, as appropriate, by Internet,
fax, phone tree, print materials, and face-to-face meetings. Support, technical
assistance, and resource identification will be readily available and reality-based,
coming from both resource persons and from projects actually involved in
the hands-on delivery of violence prevention and substance abuse prevention
services in the schools and in the community.
SafetyNet will develop content that is site-specific and appropriate
to the needs of a state that is largely rural or low-income and minimally
experienced in community-based electronic communication. Content development
will include a statewide student competition to create websites dealing
with violence and drug abuse prevention.
SafetyNet will be highly flexible, content rich, focused on real-world
successes, and modular in design to insure its sustainability after initial
funding ends.
Funding is requested for three years of BellSouth Foundation partial support.
SafetyNet could be operational within three months after the start of funding,
and its basic core operations would require minimal future funding after
startup.
Background
In a period of declining federal resources available for the support of
violence and drug abuse prevention, and in a period of parallel increased
demand on the in-state resources available for these and many other programs
formally receiving federal funding, far greater attention must be given
to the identification of programs that work, to collaborative projects,
and to cost-effective methods for sharing information and resources.
We have abundant information proving that prevention programs work and are
cost effective, and we have considerable information that identifies the
risk factors and protective factors that must be addressed if a prevention
program is to be effective. This information, however, is neither well-known
nor readily available within the community, and traditional programs for
the dissemination of this information are frequently slow, costly, and marginally
effective.
Nationally, although crime in general is declining, youth crime and youth
violence are soaring. Drug abuse has become a major youth problem -- again.
There are now neighborhoods where, research has shown, a young person is
safer if he or she is carrying a gun. Marijuana use has doubled since the
early 1990s, heroin use is up 80 per cent since 1992, and LSD use is climbing.
In Alabama, the need for effective youth programs is even more clear. The
number of children reported abused or neglected is historically high, 33.7
per 1,000. The rate of births to teen mothers is high (13%) and increasing;
the high school graduation rate is low (63%) and falling. The rate of juvenile
violent-crime arrests (285.5) is high and growing dramatically; the rate
of juvenile violent crime court referrals is similarly high (750.4) and
growing dramatically. More than 7 per cent of Alabama's children live in
families receiving AFDC; more than 10 per cent receive food stamps; almost
one-quarter live below the poverty line. More than one-fifth of Alabama's
children live in single parent families, and this number is growing.
These are all proven significant risk factors in violence and drug abuse,
with no part of the state fully immune to these problems. Our children need
effective programs, need to be approached across the board with community-wide
programs, need to coordinate the efforts of our schools and the community
at large, and need programs that make effective use of the limited resources
available. Alabama as a statewide community needs to know what works, who
is doing it, and how it can be implemented locally.
SafetyNet is an inexpensive and effective method to improve communication,
knowledge, and resource sharing among existing programs offering successful
violence and drug abuse prevention, and a means by which these programs
can become effective advocates to the community for programs and methods
that work.
Learning Focus and BellSouth Foundation Category
Project SafetyNet will directly assist educational and community organizations
presently involved in the delivery of violence and drug abuse prevention
programs to at-risk youth, pre-school through late adolescence. Participants
include the State Department of Education; the Department of Youth Services;
the Governor's Office of Drug Abuse Policy, representatives of the Juvenile
Justice system; individual schools, teachers, and school systems; community
groups like the Boy Scouts and local athletic programs; institutions of
higher education; and other groups. More than sixty such organizations and
agencies are presently participants in the Alabama Violence Prevention Consortium.
The Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education is requesting a three-year
BellSouth Foundation Open Grant. This program directly addresses the following
BellSouth Foundation focus areas and priorities:
1. Developing Individual Capacity to Improve Learning
B. Developing Educators for Leadership
II. Creating Environments to Improve Learning
A. Rethinking Institutional Roles and Relationships
B. Encouraging Community Involvement in Educational Improvement
III. Promoting Partnerships Through Technology to Improve Learning
A. Linking Schools with Other Learning Environments
B. Providing Technical Assistance to Organizations and Communities
Project Results
Who would participate?
The obvious and most immediate participants will be the existing membership
of the Alabama Violence Prevention Consortium, which represents over sixty
organizations, agencies, and individuals already active in the delivery
of violence and drug abuse prevention programs or other programs targeted
at "at risk" youth. This group could be connected and active almost
immediately, within less than three months of initial funding. Depending
on the existing resources of each site, initial connection to SafetyNet
would be by internet, fax broadcast, or phone tree, supplemented as needed
with print materials and individual phone or on-site assistance.
SafetyNet could then be rapidly expanded to include other members of the
community. Students and student groups would be directly involved through
the statewide website competition. Parent groups, community leaders, elected
officials, law enforcement, juvenile justice agencies, church groups, schools,
student groups, individual students -- all could easily be invited to participate,
either in the full network or in specific forums developed among the participants.
Special topic forums could be organized readily and quickly to meet special
needs as they develop.
Project Objectives
1) To link Alabama violence and substance abuse prevention program sites
into a statewide communication and information network; and to assist sites
which need help joining and participating fully in SafetyNet, including
equipment recommendations, identification of low-cost access opportunities,
and the training of SafetyNet participants in the effective use of the SafetyNet
resources;
2) To identify and distribute information about those local and national
resources that would be of greatest value to the SafetyNet membership; and
to prepare localized new and/or site-specific materials as needed to assist
the member sites in the successful implementation of their projects;
3) To offer a statewide youth website competition that will increase youth
understanding of and participation in violence and drug abuse prevention
and increase their access to and skills at the use of the technical resources
developing around them,
4) To document the SafetyNet development process so that it can serve as
a model and demonstration site for the development of similar special focus
coalitions,
5) To work with SafetyNet participants to bring other community organizations
into the SafetyNet membership, and to provide outreach that would bring
other sectors of the broader Alabama community into involved roles in violence
prevention and drug abuse prevention.
Evaluation Plan
The Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education will initially survey the
membership of the Alabama Violence Prevention Consortium to determine the
needs and assistance required to design and implement a statewide network
linked by internet, fax broadcast, phone tree, print materials, and face-to-face
meetings as appropriate to the needs and financial resources of each site.
(This work is already underway.) The Center will survey the SafetyNet membership
at project mid=point to determine how well needs are being met and what
needs remain to be met. An independent contractor will conduct a membership
use and satisfaction end survey. The Alabama Center for Law & Civic
Education will prepare a narrative history and manual of the technical,
membership, and content development of this network.
Specific data (surveys, archival records, school records, etc.) to be
gathered
-- initial and mid-point surveys to determine technical and information
resources and needs
-- independent exit survey of participant satisfaction and proposals for
future development
-- program narratives and project descriptions on each SafetyNet participant
-- materials submitted to the statewide student website competition
-- membership database for information on services provided, the organizations
themselves, and the resources available within their community
-- resource and information database, including links to local, state, and
national information on programs that work, implementation strategies, and
funding sources
-- narrative history and manual for the technical, membership, and resource
development of a statewide violence and drug abuse prevention network
Cost
Is this project technically and financially feasible?
The technical and equipment requirements for the SafetyNet user are minimal.
Most organizations have access to a computer. Equipping that computer for
internet connectivity requires only a modem ($50-200, depending on features),
software that is available for free, and minimal internet monthly connect
fees ($0-30/month, depending on location and desired features). Those organizations
that do not have access to a computer could still set up a transitional
website through SafetyNet, to provide information to other organizations,
clients, and the general public.
Many of the requirements of this network are already taking form. Free or
low-cost access is available in most large and medium sized cities in Alabama.
Two statewide access networks are in development through the state library
system and through the schools. In places where no access or service provider
presently exists, toll-free 800 service, though expensive, is available,
and SafetyNet would help local sites identify and connect to available and
appropriate local access providers. A statewide BBS and website for lawyers
and other members of the judicial and juvenile justice systems are already
in place at the Alabama Supreme Court and Law Library, and access to this
system for educators is currently being developed. Additional access programs
are newly operational or in development -- many with BellSouth Assistance.
Other SafetyNet funding sources have already been contacted. A proposal
for partial first-year funding has been submitted to the Governor's Office
for Drug Abuse Policy; a proposal has been submitted to the Hill Crest Foundation
to furnish and equip a resource and training site at the Center's offices.
Cumberland School of Law has provided additional office space for the resource
center. A grant proposal for a statewide Alabama CivicNet to improve local
access and establish an umbrella pointer website is pending at the Corporation
for Public Broadcasting.
The technical training requirements are minimal. The skills required for
e-mail and access to the World Wide Web are simple compared to routine computer
tasks like word processing. Even the most techno-phobic SafetyNet member
could find a bright high school student to assist them; the basic requirements
for participating are less demanding than setting a VCR clock.
Once organizations and individuals are connected into the network, their
access to resources expands dramatically. Compare: Travel costs for statewide
face-to-face meetings can easily run $50-100 per participant. In contrast,
a fax and phone tree network is considerably less expensive, and an e-mail
send-and-receive connection can cost less than five cents even when the
information is broadcast to every member of the SafetyNet network. A Web
search that lasts hours might still cost less than $1 in connect fees. SafetyNet
participants could distribute materials to every other participant, in real
time, for less than the cost of one postage stamp.
Plans for Future Funding and Project Sustainability
Many of the financial requirements of SafetyNet are startup costs -- resource
identification, initial communication among the participating members, initial
design, preparation of online services, content development, assistance
to organizations that wish to become involved but have no present internet
experience, etc. SafetyNet has an almost infinitely flexible modular design.
The major *basic* cost for ongoing network operations would be minimal,
although we hope funding would be available to continue broader services
and the website competition. This, however, is a voluntary network. Once
in operation, its actual services could vary according to participant interest
and available funds.
Because of its modular structure, SafetyNet's resource demands on any one
organization are reduced. No single organization is responsible for undertaking
the task of mounting and operating and securing funding for a statewide
network -- including a large and active website, technical assistance and
training, content development, etc. The modular structure of SafetyNet provides
a framework on which many projects can be hung, each undertaken by separate
organizations or agencies or even individuals. This has two very clear advantages:
it distributes the workload and the demand on organizational resources,
and it makes the stability of the entire SafetyNet (with all its features)
independent of the stability of any one of its members or service providers.
Even SafetyNet's core programs could be moved to another site if they outstripped
the resources of its initial location. This is potentially a very stable
structure, with individual components having high possibilities for private
or government underwriting.
Other future financial support of SafetyNet can take any of the following
forms:
1) After initial design and startup, SafetyNet could continue
as a voluntary, member-developed network requiring minimal central network
administration. User/members could be responsible for all content development
and resource identification, guided by a volunteer steering committee. If
all members can develop internet capability, this would be realistic as
a way to proceed at minimal cost even if future funding is not available.
It would be more difficult to proceed in this direction if it remains necessary
to link some of the membership by fax broadcast, phone tree, or print materials.
2) SafetyNet could become a relatively low-cost membership network, funded
voluntarily by member payments much as local public television and public
radio receive their major financial support from voluntary viewer and listener
memberships. This approach would not limit the participation of smaller
organizations or low-income individuals. Alternatively, members could be
assessed an fee based on annual budget, larger organizations paying more
to participate. This could generate enough income to retain a part-time
system administrator/coordinator.
3) If network traffic warrants it, SafetyNet could develop advertiser revenue,
using spot ads and/or infomercial sites similar to the search engines and
databases currently in use on the World Wide Web.
4) The major cost of a network such as SafetyNet is not in maintaining the
network but in identifying, evaluating, or generating network content. Basic
operations could proceed using any of the three methods above, with outside
funding being sought as needed for content development.
Each SafetyNet organization would be responsible for the requirements of
minimal participation -- about one hour per week of actual network time,
access to the necessary equipment, some time spent offline for data collection
and content development. Annual participation costs to a member organization
could vary from NO new costs (assuming the organization is already linked
to the Internet) to total capital expenses under $500 and annual connect
fees well under $30 per month. It is possible that in-kind providers could
make participation available at no cost (already being done in some areas).
Internet access is becoming increasingly common as a service to membership
at sites as diverse as the Birmingham Area Library System and the Independent
Living Center for persons with physical disabilities, and almost every college
and university provides email and internet services to its faculty, staff,
and students. If need be, SafetyNet could operate almost entirely on volunteer
involvement and in-kind contributions, though its services would then need
to be more limited than those proposed here.
The Applicant
Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education
The Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education is the law-related
and civic education training resource center for the state of Alabama. The
Center provides in-school programs, community programs, training for teachers
and community leaders, access to resources, special programs for at-risk
youth and juvenile offenders, and the coordination of in-school and community-based
law and civic education programs among educational, legal, community, and
governmental agencies. In 1995, the Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education:
-- trained over 600 community volunteers and classroom teachers
-- directly involved over 20,000 youth and school children statewide in
the Center's programs
-- distributed for free over $110,000 of books, pamphlets, posters, and
other educational
materials to schools and community organizations
-- recruited over 300 volunteers who contributed over 3,500 hours of documented
volunteer service
The Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education is a 501(c)(3) non-profit
organization with offices at the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham,
Alabama. Over the last two years it has made a major commitment to developing
network opportunities for educators, organizations, and government agencies
in Alabama, including contracting for services to develop better computing
and internet capabilities and participation in the 1996 Instructional Technology
Conference. In July, 1996, the Center hired a new Associate Director who
will be responsible for community outreach and inter-agency network development,
including the Center's participation in SafetyNet. The Center also recently
acquired additional office space (increasing its available space by 50 per
cent), which will be devoted to computer networking, resource identification
and development, and the development of online databases and distant learning
content.
In addition to serving as a resource center for teachers and community educators,
it is also the resource and coordination hub for the Alabama Violence
Prevention Consortium, a statewide inclusive network of more than sixty
organizations, state and local government agencies, and interested individuals.
(A list of its members is included in the printed supplementary material.)
For Additional Information --
APPLICANT ORGANIZATION:
Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education
c/o Cumberland School of Law
800 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, AL 35229
phone 205/870-2433
fax 205/870-2459
email c/o bozartmt@bham.mindspring.com (temporary address)
--------------------
NAME OF PROPOSAL CONTACT:
L. Wade Black, Assoc. Director
Alabama Center for Law & Civic Education
phone 205/836-8052, 205/870-2433
fax 205/870-2459
email bozartmt@bham.mindspring.com
or wadeblack@aol.com
APPENDICES
The following are available in the hardcopy material submitted.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
PROJECT STAFF
BUDGET
IRS DETERMINATION LETTER
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
Please send comments, corrections, or suggestions to wadeblack@mindspring.com
Copyright © 1996 L. Wade Black. All rights reserved.