A child pauses before reacting to frustration. Another makes room for a classmate in a group activity. These everyday moments reflect skills that early prevention education is primed to establish in children from a young age. Repeated opportunities to practice and reinforce these essential self-efficacy and interpersonal skills in classrooms, after-school programs, and other community settings help children use what they learn in daily life. Setting positive expectations for these behaviors while children are young sets them on a course for respectful, fulfilling, and supportive relationships through adolescence and into adulthood.
In Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, the Mecklenburg County Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, its Special Grant Initiative (SGI) Grant Partners, and the C.E. Mendez Foundation work together to support this approach. Their relationship brings together three essential parts of community prevention combining investment in early learning, local delivery that gives children opportunities to practice, and measurement that helps partners understand what they are observing. Each partner brings an essential component that strengthens the work of the others.
Through its Special Grant Initiative (SGI), the Mecklenburg County ABC Board invests in local organizations working to prevent substance use among youth. SGI Grant Partners implement the Too Good for Drugs (TGFD) - Maximizing Life curriculum, bringing prevention education and essential life skills to children in schools, after-school programs, and other youth-serving settings. They teach the lessons and create opportunities for children to participate and practice the skills learned in the lessons. The Mendez Foundation supports the partnership's learning by analyzing and reporting student outcomes.
For the 2025-2026 cohort, the partnership added student outcome data collection, analysis, and reporting. SGI Grant Partners completed behavior checklists before and after the program, and the Mendez Foundation compared matched results for 117 students in grades K-5. The checklists captured behaviors adults can observe in everyday interactions: managing emotions, cooperating with peers, including others, and handling conflict without teasing or fighting.
Average overall behavior scores rose from 74.39 before the program to 85.32 afterward. Among the students with matched checklists, 76.9% received higher posttest scores. Scores improved in all four areas measured, with the largest gain in personal behaviors such as self-regulation and responsibility. These results show encouraging changes in the behaviors the partnership set out to support.
The partners also monitored how the program was delivered. Across 17 survey responses, instructors reported teaching an average of 9.65 of the 10 lessons and giving students opportunities to participate and practice. This information helps the partners interpret the observed changes alongside what students experienced during the program.
The value of this partnership extends beyond a single set of scores. The ABC Board invests in early prevention by providing the resources and support; SGI Grant Partners bring the curriculum to life in children’s everyday settings, supporting their learning and observing their progress; and the Mendez Foundation translates those observations into findings the partners can use. Together, they demonstrate a practical collaborative approach to community prevention built on shared expectations, skill development, and continuous learning from results to strengthen prevention efforts across Mecklenburg County.
The 2025-2026 findings capture progress during this implementation. The longer-term promise of early prevention depends on continuing to give children clear expectations and chances to practice as they grow. When families, schools, and community partners reinforce these skills over time, the small moments of pausing, including others, and resolving conflict can become familiar ways of responding to everyday challenges.
