EUGENE–Schools across the state will soon have access to a University of Oregon program that helps troubled kids learn to control their behavior.

The UO Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior (IVDB) has received a $500,000 legislative appropriation to implement the nationally recognized First Step to Success program in all 36 Oregon counties.

First Step, an early intervention program for diverting at risk children from a path leading to school failure and aggressive, destructive behavior, was developed by IVDB to reach children when they first enter school. The program addresses the needs of children who show the signs of antisocial behaviors that often lead to later school failure and dropout, delinquency and, sometimes, violence.

"The evidence is very clear that the sooner one intervenes with children who are on the wrong path, the more likely it is that the effort will succeed. By spending a few dollars when children enter school, you’ll avoid spending thousands later," says Hill Walker, IVDB director and chief architect of First Step.

The First Step program costs $600 per child to implement compared to the many thousands of dollars necessary to keep a youthful offender in jail for a year. The First Step intervention requires three months from start to finish.

The IVDB, part of the UO College of Education, will manage the program in partnership with the Oregon Commission on Children and Families (OCCF).

"We want to try First Step out in different parts of the state to make sure it works equally well in rural schools and urban schools and in school settings in Eastern, Central and Western Oregon," says OCCF executive director Donna Middleton.

School districts wishing to participate in the First Step Replication program must apply to their local Commissions on Children and Families. Walker says participating teachers will begin to receive First Step training in a few weeks. He expects the First Step program to be up and running in schools by early next year.

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