Capacity Building

A small city in the Northeast began to experience violence as a result of developing gangs. This community’s advisory group met regarding the emerging gang problem. They believed that two things were necessary to prevent this problem from escalating. First, the team needed to provide appropriate activities to prevent adolescents from turning to gangs, and second, they needed to educate police, recreation leaders, coaches, and parents on deescalating and resolving conflicts peacefully.

Capacity building occurs when communities aim to strengthen knowledge, abilities, and skills of individuals to improve organizational structures to better meet the needs of the community in a sustainable way.

Capacity building occurs when communities aim to strengthen knowledge, abilities, and skills of individuals to improve organizational structures to better meet the needs of the community in a sustainable way. Capacity building can be leveraged to promote prevention and reduction of substance use at the individual, classroom, school, family, and community levels.

Building Capacity to Develop Kindergarten-Ready Students – Mt. Vernon, IN

Many school districts in Indiana recognized that children were entering school with limited skills due to varying factors. Kindergarten and early elementary grades needed a common measurement of early childhood social and emotional learning, and development skills. In 2013, Mt. Vernon School District's Safe Schools/Healthy Students program administered over 400 kindergarten-readiness checklists to 40 early child-care providers and preschool programs in a three-county area. 

Mt. Vernon School District, Indiana – Mt. Vernon, IN

In 2008, the Mt. Vernon School District increased school safety through the addition of safety equipment, the presence of law enforcement officers in rural schools, and the improvement of communication between schools, parents, and law enforcement. Through its Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) initiative, the district made its 44 schools safer by putting into action a structured school-safety audit checklist, safety equipment, and School Resource Officers (SROs) in all three of its counties.