Youth Prevention Programs: Protecting You / Protecting Me Program
Protecting You/Protecting Me (PY/PM) is an abstinence-based prevention curriculum designed to fill the gap in programs that have not yet incorporated the latest research on children’s brains and the developmental risks associated with exposure to alcohol before the age of 21. It was developed by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and is a Model Program of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Trained and qualified prevention staff from Managed Care Center facilitate PY/PM on campus during the regular school day. First through fifth grade students participate in biweekly or weekly lessons over a month or two during the course of a semester. The students have an opportunity to learn about the importance of protecting their brains through group activities, structured discussion, role play, exploring real life topics and issues, and parental involvement.
Program Goals
- To prevent injury and death of children and youth due to underage consumption of alcoholic beverages.
- To prevent injury and death of children and youth due to vehicle-related risks, especially as passengers in vehicles in which the driver is not alcohol-free.
Program Objectives
- To increase knowledge of how the human brain develops and the negative impact of exposure to non-prescribed psychoactive substances on the brain, particularly the negative impact of alcohol on the developing brain up to age 21, among students in grades one through five.
- To maintain non-use attitudes regarding psychoactive substance use/abuse, particularly about products containing alcohol, among students in grades one through three.
- To maintain, reinforce and increase non-use attitudes regarding future psychoactive substance use/abuse, particularly future use and abuse of products containing alcohol, among students in grades 4 and 5.
- To increase social skills, especially resistance skills and decision-making skills, among students in grades 1 through 5.
- To increase media-awareness with regard to advertising of alcoholic beverages among students in grades 1 through 5.
