For Immediate Release

Date: January 14, 2015

Contact: Brooke Hoyt
Number: 781.393.2449
Medford Middle and High Schools to Administer Survey on Youth Behaviors
The Communities That Care Youth Survey is designed to improve our understanding of adolescent
alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, as well as adolescent crime, delinquency and related risky behaviors.
This survey has been administered every two years since 2005; this iteration will be the sixth Medford
Public Schools will be conducting.
The goal of the survey is to better understand the risky behaviors youth engage in and to more effectively
target efforts to prevent them. Team Medford, a Health Department initiative, and Medford Health
Matters, a community coalition, sponsors the survey in collaboration with the Medford Public Schools. It
has been funded by a grant from the federal government and, this year, funding from Mt. Auburn
Hospital.
The data being collected is a valuable assessment tool and it is the hope that each child is allowed to
participate. As a parent/guardian you have the right to prohibit your childs participation in the survey.
The following are facts about the survey to help make an informed decision about your childs
participation.
1. It is voluntary Your child does not have to participate. Neither you nor your child is required to
give a reason for not participating. Students who do not participate will not be required to answer
all of the questions- only those that they choose to answer.
2. It is anonymous and confidential The survey is designed to protect your childs and the schools
privacy. No names or other identifying information will be recorded. Once the survey is complete
all survey will be carefully protected and after six months will be destroyed.
3. It is well tested The survey was developed in the early 1990s and has been given to over 500,000
students in the United States over the years. The information from the survey has been used to
prevent a variety of adolescent problem behaviors.
To ensure that all parents/guardians are notified and well informed of the survey, letters have been mailed
to families with children in the middle and high schools. In this letter there is a form that
parents/guardians are to fill out if they DO NOT want their child to participate. You do not need to
notify the school or sign anything to allow your child to participate. A copy of the survey is available
for all to review at your school and will be conducted in the first two weeks of February. You may also
contact Penelope Funaiole or Brooke Hoyt at (781) 393-2449 or email teammedford02155@gmail.com
for more information.
In addition, an Adult Attitudes and Perception Survey has been mailed home. This survey is asking
parents/guardians about attitudes and opinions on underage drinking, marijuana use, and other health
related behaviors. For this survey to be accurate and precise the more returned surveys the better results,
please take ten minutes to return the survey in the self address envelope provided.
Results obtained from the youth survey will be complied into reports and available to the community in
July 2015. This data plays an important role in efforts to prevent drug use, delinquency and other kinds of
adolescent problem behaviors.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support in creating a healthier Medford. ###