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EVALUATING PROGRESS

The Resiliency Corps, including the UNM course Youth Safety, Health and Resiliency will be evaluated in a variety of ways over five years.  The Corps is currently developing evaluation tools to measure:

  • increases in resiliency factors
  • decreases in risk factors
  • increases in access to physical health and mental health
  • increases in enhanced learning, recreational and mentoring activities
  • increased implementation of evidence-based youth injury prevention and health promotion policies
  • increased county-wide coordination among agencies serving youth and families
  • increased utilization of YRRS to inform prevention strategies

The Resiliency Corps, being piloted in Valencia County, is an experiment which can inform other youth injury prevention efforts around the state. The Office of Injury Prevention will evaluate the program so that other counties and tribes can develop their own Resiliency Corps.

UTILIZATION OF YRRS 

The Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS) will be used to inform our evaluation process. The YRRS will have been conducted twice over the course of the five-year Resiliency Corps project, providing data from high school and middle school students on risk and resiliency factors. The Corps seeks to reduce risk factors and strengthen resiliency factors. Over the course of the five-year Resiliency Corps project, we will be able to measure the following on a county level:

  • Increased awareness of YRRS by school administration and staff;
  • Increased participation with YRRS among schools and school districts; and
  • Use of YRRS and other data to assess risk and resiliency and inform prevention strategies.

Increase in Resiliency Factors (measured in the YRRS)

  • Increased rate of past 12 month bicycle helmet use
  • Increased rate of seat belt use
  • Increased rate of caring and supportive relationships by an adult at school
  • Increased rate of caring and supportive relationships by an adult outside the home or school
  • Increased rate of high expectations by an adult at school
  • Increased access to and utilization of school based behavioral health services
  • Increased rate of productive use of time outside of home and school (increased group activities including sport teams, clubs, church/temple; or individual activities including music, art, literature, sports, or a hobby)

Decrease in Risk Factors  (measured in the YRRS)

  • Decreased past 12 month suicide attempt rate
  • Decreased annual suicide rate
  • Decreased past 30 day drinking and driving rate
  • Decreased past 30 day riding with a drinking driver rate
  • Decreased current drinking rate
  • Decreased binge drinking rate
  • Decreased rate of past 30 day illicit drug use (cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamines)
  • Decreased rate of past 12 month bullying
  • Decreased rate of past 12 month skipping school because of safety concerns
  • Decreased rate of past 12 month physical fighting
  • Decreased rate of past 12 month teen dating violence (i.e., being hit, slapped, or physically hurt on purpose by girlfriend or boyfriend)

To read the results of the 2009 YRRS Survey for Valencia County in the "Data Reports By County" visit: http://www.youthrisk.org


OTHER EVALUATION TOOLS

Measuring Resiliency Factors

We will conduct additional surveys and focus groups to measure an increase in resiliency factors:

  • Enhanced opportunities for students to access mental health and physical health services
  • Increased afterschool learning programs
  • Increased weekend recreation and mentoring programs
  • Increased implementation of evidence-based youth injury prevention policies and health promotion programming throughout the county.

Measuring Countywide Coordination of Community Resources and Programs

We will evaluate, as a result of the Resiliency Corps, increased collaboration between agencies (e.g. public health, law enforcement, schools, behavioral health professionals) resulting in coordinated comprehensive campaigns to reduce youth injury and promote resiliency factors.

Measuring increases in knowledge and changes in attitudes

We will evaluate the learning experience of students in the UNM Valencia course Youth Safety, Health and Resiliency. Pre and post-course surveys will help us measure student’s increases in knowledge related to youth safety and injury prevention. We will also conduct surveys to measure changes in attitudes related to youth safety and if resident feel, after attending Resiliency Corps events that it is more important to focus on youth injury.

For More Information regarding the evaluation of the Resiliency Corps please contact:

Dubra Karnes-Padilla, Resiliency Corps Board President at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it