Information on the roles of the prevention resource centers, summary of the regional needs assessment and the importance of collaboration.

1. -ROLE OF THE PRCS
-BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE RNA
-IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION
Hortencia C. Carmona, MS
PRC Region 8, PRC Regional Evaluator
Tuesday December 15, 2015

2. ROLES OF THE PRC’S
(PREVENTION RESOURCE CENTER)
 PRC-8 is 1 of 11 PRC’s throughout Texas
 PRCs are supported by the Texas Department of
State Health Services (DSHS)
 Centers are part of a larger network of youth
prevention programs and community coalitions
 PRC’s works to improve the welfare of Texans by
discouraging and reducing substance abuse
 PRC’s work provide valuable resources to address
the state’s three prevention priorities:
 (1) under-age drinking,
 (2) marijuana use, and
 (3) prescription drug abuse, as well as tobacco and
other illicit drugs
Region 8: Upper South Texas
Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Calhoun, Comal, DeWitt, Dimmit, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Goliad,
Gonzales, Guadalupe, Jackson, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kinney, La Salle, Lavaca, Maverick,
Medina, Real, Uvalde, Val Verde, Victoria, Wilson, and Zavala Counties.

3. REGIONAL NEEDS
ASSESSMENT (RNA)
 Assembled by the Prevention Resource
Center in Texas Region 8 (PRC 8)
 A comprehensive view of information
about the trends and outcomes
associated with regional and statewide
drug and alcohol use
 to help better understand the needs of
the communities and to evaluate how
best to serve these needs.
 Information presented in this document
has been acquired by a team of regional
evaluators throughout Texas and the
PRC 8 team.

4. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE 2015 RNA
PRC REGION 8
2015 Regional Needs
Assessment
2015 Regional Needs
Assessment Overview
2015 RNA
Available online at
www.prcregion8.org
220 pgs. each
110 sources
Tables & Charts
Definitions
Additional Resources
Available in English &
Spanish (pdf)
2015 RNA Overview
Available online at
www.prcregion8.org
70 pgs. combined
Available: in English &
Spanish (pdf/ hardcopy)
Summary, Risk & Protective
Factors, Region at a Glance,
Regional Resources
Source: PRC8 2015 RNA

5. COLLEGE & HIGHER EDUCATION - 2015
RNA-KEY FINDINGS

6. COMMUNITY &
STATE COLLEGES
Texas Higher Education Enrollments
Certified Certified Change Percent
Fall 2013 Fall 2014 Change
Two- and Four-Year Institutions
Universities 584,785 603,598 18,813 3.2
Community and State Colleges 708,508 700,836 -7,672 -1.1
Texas State Technical Colleges 11,333 11,642 309 2.7
TOTALS 1,304,626 1,316,076 11,450 0.9
Region 8 Higher Education Enrollments
Certified Certified Change Percent
Fall 2013 Fall 2014 Change
Two- and Four-Year Institutions
Universities 37,626 37,556 -70 -0.2
Community and State Colleges 68,648 67,989 -659 -1.0
Texas State Technical Colleges 23,377 23,592 215 0.9
TOTALS 129,651 129,137 -514 -0.4
According to the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board (THECB):
• Texas high school graduates who enroll
in college immediately after high school
has decreased.
• For Hispanic and African American
students, the percentage enrolling in
college immediately after high school
has continued to decrease since 2011.

7. COLLEGE DRINKING
Consequences for Students
• Academic fallout: Missed classes, poor
school performance, withdrawal from
courses, and dropping out
• Health problems: Alcohol use disorder
and other alcohol-related problems, such
as sleep issues and depression
• Acute risks: Impaired driving, unsafe sex,
fights, sexual assaults, suicide attempts,
unintentional injuries, overdoses, and
death
Consequences for Schools:
• Higher costs for health care and
security
• Costs related to campus vandalism
• Costs related to attrition and the need
for additional recruitment
• Damage to a school’s reputation

8. TRENDS IN COLLEGES &
UNIVERSITIES
Almost 40,000 arrests and 165,000
disciplinary actions for drug- and
alcohol-related offenses on
American college campuses
Suicide is the second leading cause of
death among college students, with an
estimated 1,500 deaths each year
More young people use alcohol
than any other drug, including tobacco or
marijuana.
Among college students ages 18 to 22,
alcohol use is common …
60.3 percent are current drinkers.
And excessive …
40.1 percent are binge drinkers (at least five
drinks/occasion); and
14.4 percent are heavy drinkers (at least five
drinks/occasion at least five times/month).
Really excessive …
Young people ages 18 to 24 who binge drink
consume an average of 9.3 drinks on an occasion.
Of students ages 18 to 24 who had been drinking:
400,000 had unprotected sex; and
More than 100,000 reported having been too intoxicated to know if
they consented to having sex.
Sexually transmitted diseases were
contracted by:
2.4 percent of those who had been binge drinking during the past month; and
3.1 percent of those who had been drinking heavily during the past month.
Among college students:
46 percent of all substance abuse treatment
admissions were primarily related to alcohol disorders.

9. TRENDS IN COLLEGES &
UNIVERSITIES
Annually, among students ages 18 to 24, an estimated:
599,000 are injured while under the influence of alcohol; and
1,825 die from alcohol-related injuries, including those from
motor vehicle crashes.
Annually,
More than 150,000 students develop an alcohol-related
health problem; and
1.2–1.5 percent attempt suicide due to alcohol or drug use.
Annually, among students ages 18 to 24, an estimated:
3,360,000 drive under the influence of alcohol.
Annually, among students ages 18 to 24, an estimated:
696,000 are physically assaulted by another student who
has been drinking; and
97,000 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assaults or date
rape.

10. RISK FACTORS
Student stress/depression
related to academic pressures
Inadequate substance abuse
prevention, intervention, and
treatment on/off campus
“Party
school”
culture
Easy access
to alcohol
on/off campus
Strong sorority
presence on
campus
Small campus
size
Residential
4-year college
High density of local
alcohol outlets
Importance of
athletics on
campus
Campus risk factors for underage and excessive drinking:

11. Protective factors that can
help prevent high-risk youths
from engaging in delinquency
and drug use.

12. IMPORTANCE OF
COLLABORATION
• Everyone needs to work together to change the
culture.
• For youth themselves, prevention means
understanding the dangers of use, changing how
they think about substance use and abuse, and
obeying the laws against consumption.
• For educators, prevention means being aware of
how school and other social systems—families,
students’ peers, the larger community, the
media, among others—can affect students’ risks
for substance use and abuse.
• It means taking action in a developmentally
sensitive way to help students navigate the
challenges of college life in positive ways,
including rejecting underage alcohol and other
substance use consumption.
There is a role for everyone:

13. IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION
• Texas DSHS working in close collaboration with local communities to tailor services
and meet local needs for substance abuse prevention.
• Although the PRC Region 8 does not work strategically on environmental changes,
the information and data from the Regional Needs Assessment will be instrumental
for coalitions and organizations that do.
• The Prevention Resource Center in Region 8 has a strong partnership with the
Circles of San Antonio (COSA) Community Coalition and many other community
partners.