Review and Meet Training Needs

Especially if there has been a substantial time lag between planning the prevention effort and implementation, it is likely that there has been some change in both professional staff and volunteer staff. Examine your staffing pattern for both employees and volunteers and compare it to your staff training schedule. At a staff meeting, present hypothetical situations to evaluate whether individuals have a clear understanding of the goals and objectives, roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures, and next steps. In preparation for a program implementation, trainings should include the following four elements.

Roles. Everyone should have a very clear idea about their roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Everyone should understand the relationship between their tasks and the tasks of their co-workers, and in relation to the overall program.

Procedures. The primary focus of most prevention implementation trainings is the details about how things ought to be done. Trainings should address the expected procedures to accomplish certain tasks and the policies that should be followed.

Things to avoid. Depending on the specific prevention effort, there will be certain things that only specific individuals can do. In some cases, there will be confidentiality issues, and in other cases, there will be sensitive political issues that need to be handled carefully by senior people. There may be certain things that must be done by paid staff and not by volunteers. Everyone should have a clear understanding about the limitations of the people and the program.

Emergency procedures. Environmental approaches to substance abuse prevention can involve contact with regional decision- and policy-makers, politicians, the media, community activists, and community members. Some of these people are dealing with highly charged and emotional issues. Mistakes can be easily made and crises can be easily initiated. Everyone should understand what to do in the event of an emergency. Ensure that everyone knows whom they should contact and report to in such situations.