Helping Our Youth!

Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc. works closely with the youth in our community and provides the following services:

• Tobacco Cessation Services
• Education / Prevention about the Dangers of Tobacco
• Empowerment Skills - helping our youth stand up and speak out on important issues

School Programs

TAT is a tobacco prevention education program designed to provide teens with the knowledge and skills necessary to become "teen educators and tobacco-free advocates." The TAT program trains youth ages 13-17 in a peer led teaching model enabling them to become effective peer teachers on tobacco use issues.

Evidence indicates that peer-led programs such as TAT are more effective in reducing tobacco use among youth. Younger children benefit by seeing positive role models tell the truth about tobacco. The mentoring by the teen participants serves to reinforce their decision to remain tobacco-free.

Many TAT teams members participate in statewide - PA BUSTED! activities as well as various community events to educate the public on the dangers of tobacco use and of second-hand smoke exposure.

Recently our TAT teams have worked closely with businesses within their communities to adopt tobacco-free polices and have collected letters supporting Clean Air legislation and presented them to our local legislators at meetings they scheduled with their respective offices.

For the 2007-2008 School Year the following schools have TAT teams actively working with COGI:

Benton Area High School, Blue Mountain, Danville Area High School, Line Mountain High School, Lewisburg High School, Mahanoy Area, Mifflinburg High School, Minersville, North Schuylkill, Pottsville, Selinsgrove Area High School, Tamaqua, Tri-Valley, and Mid-West High School

Community Youth Organization

BUSTED! Teens Kickin´ Nicotine is a group of tobacco-free youth in Schuylkill County helping to lead their peers and other youth into a tobacco-free future

What do they do?
-Get the word out that most teens DON´T use tobacco.
-Raise awareness on tobacco and secondhand smoke issues.
-Dedicate themselves to being tobacco-free role models for their peers and other youth.

How do they do it?
-Work with community professionals, elected officials and educational leaders towards changing policies and laws.
-Target issues that directly affect their generation by speaking at local events.
-Participate in youth programs such as Teens Against Tobacco.

Concerned Citizens

The Schuylkill County Tobacco-Free Youth Coalition (SCTFYC) formed in 1997 as a group of citizens concerned about the effects of tobacco. This organization has grown through the years and works very hard to prevent our youth from using tobacco as well as being exposed to second-hand smoke. The SCTFYC strongly supports Clean Air legislation.

New members are always welcome! More information can be obtained by visiting www.smokefreeyouth.org or by contacting Angela Morgan at Clinical Outcomes Group, Inc. 570-628-6990.

Action for Community Transformation Coalition (ACT)

We are a group of dedicated community members representing many facets of life in Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union Counties. Our mission is to reach out to the youth of central Pennsylvania to encourage and empower them to choose a healthy, substance-free lifestyle and to utilize the collaborative resources within our region to serve our youth who are facing issues related to substance abuses.

For more information on how to get involved in this organization, please contact Dan Derr (dderr@COGInc.org) or Meg Will (mwill@COGInc.org) at 1-800-264-1290.