 Prevention & Education Program
Risk Prevention & Education
RCS’ Prevention & Education Services is dedicated to providing prevention, early intervention, and referrals to children and parents in the Gilroy community. Prevention & Education improves the quality of life in Gilroy and its schools by helping children and parents develop the knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and skills that will keep them avoid criminal behavior, gang involvement, truancy, and drug, alcohol, and tobacco use. In pursuit of these goals, Prevention & Education provided group and classroom instruction to 1715 unduplicated children in 11 Gilroy Schools and 174 parents and children during school year 2004-2005.
Prevention — Prevention & Education helps kids develop the drug resistance skills, personal management skills, and general social skills before behavioral problems develop. These skills allow them to meet the challenges of childhood and adolescence and navigate a path to successful adulthood. RCS also realizes that for kids to be successful in school, they need support at home. RCS offers family education workshops that teach parents how to have more positive and productive interactions with their children.
Early Intervention — Prevention & Education also offers assistance to high-risk kids in the form of small groups. Children are referred to small groups by their teachers for emerging behaviors that negatively affect their school performance, relationships, or personal well being. Early intervention is tailored to the needs of the individuals assigned to each group. Past groups have focused on anger management, substance abuse, self-esteem, and relationships.
Early Identification — Through screening done in small group classes and through teacher referrals, Prevention & Education staff identify and refer children who might benefit from early mental health treatment or other resources available in the Gilroy area.
The Prevention & Education Program uses bilingual professional facilitators, trained in the following science-based curricula:
Survival Skills for Healthy Families was first developed in 1980 by Virginia Scott and George Doub, the "Survival Skills" course originally was presented in various rural and urban settings using school and community sites throughout Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties in California. It is a twelve-hour program presented to large groups of families and individuals in a series of six two-hour sessions. Each session is organized around practical guidelines for healthy family interactions, which are demonstrated and then practiced with the participants. The course is a proven model for teaching skills, enhancing healthy family interactions, and investing family members in each other and their community.
Second Step is a school-based social skills curriculum for children in preschool through junior high school, which teaches social skills to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior in children and increase their level of social competence. It was created in 1987 by the Committee for Children, a nonprofit Seattle-based organization. Second Step teaches three skill units at each grade level – empathy, impulse control, and anger management. Facilitators and teachers help students apply their Second Step training to real-life situations by providing decision-making opportunities throughout the school day, both inside and outside of the classroom context.
The LifeSkills Training Program (LST) is a school-based substance abuse prevention curriculum for middle and junior high school students. The LST Program was developed in the late 1970s by Dr. Gil Botvin and aims to modify drug-related knowledge, attitudes, and norms; teach skills for resisting social influences that encourage drug use; and foster the development of general personal and social skills.
We welcome your inquiries. For more information concerning Prevention & Education services in Gilroy Schools contact Andy Day at 408-846-2415. We are located on the campus of Rebekah Children's Services, 290 IOOF Avenue, Gilroy, CA 95020.
Andrew Day is Program Manager of Prevention & Education programs.
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