| Program Name | SMART Moves |
SMART Moves, a program of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), is a primary prevention program aimed at helping young people resist tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and other drug use, as well as delay early sexual activity. (SMART is an acronym which stands for Skills Mastery and Resistance Training.) SMART Moves’ curricular components — which are introduced sequentially to children and youth ages six to 17 — are based on the personal and social competence approach to risk behavior prevention. The two-year booster program, known as SMART Leaders, engages Stay SMART graduates as peer leaders to exert positive influence on their peers to resist substance abuse. Other program components — SMART Kids, Start SMART, SMART Parents, and FAN Club — broaden the program’s capacity to reach younger children and youth at higher risk for engaging in unhealthy behaviors; to add other levels of social functioning, besides peer groups, through which youth may be reached (e.g., family and community); and to involve teams of adults and youth to monitor program implementation. SMART Moves and its components have been recognized by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) as an exemplary prevention program.
Target Population
- Grade Level: from First grade to Eleventh grade
Target Behaviors
- Tobacco use
- Alcohol and/or drug use
- Social competency/life skills
Significant Effects
- Alcohol use
- Tobacco use
- Other drug use
- Other behaviors
- Associated factors
Contact
Sharon Hemphill Senior Director of Health and Lifeskills Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Program Services also: David Reid, Assistant Director, Street SMART
1230 W. Peachtree St., NW
Atlanta , GA 30309-3447
Phone: 404-815-5760
Fax: 404-815-5757, 404-487-5789
URL: www.bgca.org
Evaluation questions should be directed to Dr. Tena St. Pierre at tls@psu.edu (Institute for Policy Research and Evaluation, Pennsylvania State University)
If you would like to read a comprehensive review of the programs you see on this site, we invite you to order the printed version, The SourceBook of Drug and Violence Prevention Programs for Children and Adolescents.