For communities lacking program resources (e.g., communities that do not have after-school recreation, mentoring or parent training programs), the Community Prevention Grants Program provides an opportunity to bring into the community new programs designed to meet their unique risk- and protection-focused profile. For communities with ample program resources, however, where risk assessments have identified pressing concerns such as fragmented service delivery systems and duplication of efforts, generating new programs is not the best prevention strategy. In this type of situation, a community may use their Community Prevention Grants Program subgrant to coordinate and improve the systems that serve their community. For many communities, a community prevention coordinator—often the first one the community has ever had—is the answer to their needs.

In these communities, the community prevention coordinator is often a combination of community organizer, mobilizer, fund raiser, and service provider. This person's primary job responsibilities are to facilitate networking and coordination among service delivery providers (many of whom are PPB members), and to monitor, coordinate, and provide oversight and support to existing program services. Through these activities, the coordinator seeks to increase service coordination, enhance collaboration among service providers, reduce duplication of effort and, in doing so, reduce risk and improve opportunities for children, youth, and families.

In York, Maine, the community is working diligently to improve the service delivery system across a five-town area. Focused on preventing delinquency by increasing the viability, availability and usage of key prevention resources for children and families, the coordinator there encourages service providers as well as others in the community to join the PPB as a means to enhance collaboration and improve local service delivery. These efforts are paying off. In a community that is new to collaboration, the climate has already changed, and now people want to collaborate. Facilitated by the coordinator, the tremendous amount of information exchanged at PPB meetings has given members the insight necessary to go back to their respective agencies and make planning, staffing, and future funding decisions with other participating agencies, organizations and service providers in mind. Although the PPB is still evolving (York is in their first year of the Community Prevention Grants Program), it is expected that collaboration among PPB members will continue to improve and will eventually impact service delivery systems by helping to ensure that service providers coordinate their efforts and work cohesively to reach those in need of services.

Eager to impact high rates of substance abuse, crime, and low graduation rates, the PPB in Klamath County, Oregon decided their Title V money would be best spent to hire two Coordinators: a Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Coordinator (JDPC) and a part time Youth Peer Court Coordinator (YPCC). Tasked with bringing together a variety of local youth-focused service providers, including the juvenile courts and children and family services, the coordinators were to change both the way services were being delivered to youth and families and the manner in which community members responded to the issue of juvenile crime. They too are making progress. To date, the JDPC, in collaboration with other service providers, has made contact with and linked to needed services every first time offender and his or her family. The YPCC has created and coordinated a Youth Peer Court for first-time offenders that requires youth to acknowledge their action, apologize for it, and provide restitution or community service. As a result of their combined efforts, Klamath County now has in place for the first time a "system that really holds [first time offenders] accountable for their actions but also responds in a way that prevents future problems."

Some communities are plagued by a lack of program resources and a lack of service coordination. In these circumstances, and sometimes just because certain target groups or areas require intensive attention, PPB members often choose to implement strategies that incorporate both a systems change component, such as a coordinator, and a program component, such as an after-school recreation program. Petersburg, Virginia is just such a place.

When the results of the risk and resource assessment pointed clearly to an area of the city that was characterized by extreme low neighborhood attachment and a variety of other problems and supported a large public housing complex, the PPB in Petersburg decided to focus attention there. Integrating the principles of systems change and program service into their Title V prevention plan, the city hired a prevention coordinator to help build relationships among housing complex residents and local educators and service providers, empower parents through education and support, and implement healthy program activities to ensure school success among youth. The outcomes of the coordinator's efforts are changing the community. To date, the coordinator has brought a multitude of services to the housing complex, including GED classes for parents, support groups and after-school tutoring for youth, and a Boy Scout troop. On a systems level, the coordinator has successfully forged relationships between the local schools and the community, relationships that have never before existed in this community.

Another commonly reported systems change strategy is for a community to develop and implement a project designed to change the laws, norms and policies that guide acceptable community behavior. For example, a community might implement a media campaign to increase community awareness of family violence or organize a lobbying effort to tighten local laws governing the sale of alcohol and tobacco.

After identifying favorable attitudes towards drugs as a priority risk factor, Building Healthy Communities, the PPB in Holland, Michigan decided a systems change project was the best method to impact a long-standing community acceptance of alcohol use. Building on an existing community plan for a public service campaign focused on alcohol and drug use, the PPB chose Attitudes Matter—a six week campaign that would bombard the community with anti-drug and drinking messages via billboards, community forums, and media ads. Although it is too early to discern the full impact of the campaign on community norms and behavior, there are signs that the message is being received. During the six-week time period, over one million people viewed related TV ads and heard radio announcements, and over 9,500 anti-drug handbooks were distributed to parents at parent-teacher conferences.

Blair County, Pennsylvania chose to implement a systems change project because they wanted to have a positive impact on a county-wide level, not just at the neighborhood or community level. Over the three year course of their Title V funding, Blair County implemented three different multi-media campaigns, one each year. In the first year, the "ABC's of Positive Parenting"—a campaign that associates each letter of the alphabet with a short phrase related to positive parenting—was everywhere. Flyers filled the weekly newspapers, and radio and television ads could be heard at all hours of the day. In the second year, Blair County focused their attention on domestic violence, a long-standing community problem. This time, No Excuse For Abuse stickers were distributed at local community events, and again, the message was delivered via radio and television ads. In the third year, high school students were recruited to deliver an Increase the Peace message on local television and radio spots. This time the message was a call for adults and youth alike to find alternatives to end conflicts other than violence and fighting.

Admittedly, this type of project is difficult to evaluate. The community is in the process of applying for funds to more fully evaluate the impact of their systems change efforts on local risk and protective factors. Until the evaluation is complete, however, the community remains optimistic that the effort is paying off and that the community is still getting the messages. Community members still request related materials, and PPB members report that they see the occasional window sticker or pamphlet in a public place.

The Community Prevention Grants Program supports systems change by encouraging communities to select prevention strategies that aim to change either the manner in which community services are organized and delivered, or the community norms, laws and policies that set the standards for acceptable community values and behavior. Providing communities the option to implement systems change strategies is not the only way the Community Prevention Grants Program promotes systems change, however. Built into the Program model is the opportunity for systems change. This next section will discuss the impact of the program model itself and provide examples that demonstrate the benefits of collaborative, community-based prevention initiatives.