1. Experience of the Lions Quest school-based prevention program
CND 2018
Matthew Kiefer

2. LCIF and UNODC: Partners in Evidence-Based Prevention

3. What is Lions Quest? A multi-component… Comprehensive…
Positive Youth Development program…
Based in Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

4. Positive School Climate
Program Components
Positive School Climate
Family Involvement
Initial Training & Follow-Up Support/
Community Engagement & Service Learning
Classroom Curriculum

5. Global Reach
Lions Quest has been implemented in more than 100 countries and curriculum materials have been translated into more than 45 languages.
More than 16 million students have benefited from Lions Quest, making it one of the most widely-used SEL and prevention programs in the world

6. What is Social and Emotional Learning?
Collaborative for Social Emotional Learning (2015)
Research on high quality substance abuse prevention programs list several essential elements:
Establishing positive norms and personal commitments that drug use is not the norm among young people and that a personal commitment to not use drugs is essential
Addressing risk and protective factors that encourage and discourage drug use
Building social and emotional competencies and resistance skills that strengthen the skills to make healthy choices and resist negative peer pressure to use drugs
Recognizing impact of drug use with accurate information about short- and long-term effects of drug use on young people’s health, friendships, interests, and future goals
Bonding with prosocial peers and caring adults who are skilled in reinforcing key prevention concepts and skills and providing a safe, caring network of support

7. SEL and Prevention
Characteristics Associated with Quality SEL Implementation
“S.A.F.E.” – Sequenced, Active, Focused, Explicit
Targeted, Intentional Skill Development
Repeated Opportunities for Practice
SEL embedded into the school’s core curriculum and policies
Positive Classroom and School Environment
Characteristics Associated with Positive Prevention Outcomes
Range of personal & social skills
Structured, scaffolded sessions
Delivered by trained facilitators
Primarily Interactive
Improvements to classroom environment
Opportunities to Practice Skills
Lions Quest programs reflect these best practices in Substance Abuse Prevention through:
Sequential, universal K-12 prevention curriculum that includes three grade level units dedicated to substance abuse prevention lessons within a strength’s-based SEL curriculum for all students, providing long-term instruction in prosocial and resistance skills
Highly interactive, student-centered instructional design that encourages critical thinking and leadership in becoming role models of drug-free, healthy choices for their peers
Positive classroom and schoolwide climate and culture that establishes a clear drug-free policy and reinforces the norm that most students are choosing a drug-free lifestyle
Parent and community materials to support parents and community members in identifying drug using behaviors and knowing how to help young people who do use drugs
Service-learning and civic engagement opportunities that provide all students with opportunities for highly rewarding, equitable, and collaborative learning experiences
Home-school-community partnership necessary to create systemic norms among the entire support network for effective and sustainable substance abuse prevention

8. Home-Community-School
Skill building doesn’t just happen in the classroom, which is why the Lions Quest program incorporates the community and family through activities such as service learning.
Community
Successful
Students
Schools
Family

9. LCIF and UNODC
Since 2014, piloting was undertaken in Serbia, FYRO Macedonia, Montenegro
Last year we started Bosnia-Herzegovina
This year we started Guatemala; funding allocated for Albania

10. How You Can Implement Connect with LCIF
If in a country with an existing program, we can put you in contact
If in a country without an existing program, LCIF can help establish a pilot
LCIF funding may be available if project is done in collaboration with local Lions clubs and members