School and Community Services

State Conference - October 11, 12, 13, 2023 - Pittsburgh

This drug and alcohol prevention program focuses on providing basic information regarding alcohol, tobacco, vaping, and other drugs to adolescents identified by law enforcement, probation officials, school districts or agencies as issues with substance abuse.

Participation in the Underage User's Group is voluntary. Youth choosing to participate agree to the following conditions and responsibilities of the compliance:

1. Attend two, three-hour group sessions (participants must arrive on time and remain for the entire session). The three-hour group sessions will usually be on two different days, but there are instances when they will be held on the same day.
2. Participate by sharing information and working toward program goals.
3. Maintain confidentiality.
4. Practice healthy, constructive life direction. Participation in the program, while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs will result in discharge from the program, and,
5. ARD clients must comply with all assessment recommendations.

Brochure link follows Registration Instructions.

Registration Instructions

Scroll down to see calendar showing available classes and for the link to register for the classes. Click the date on the calendar to open the information window and follow the directions.

The cost of the class is $80, payable at the first class with cash, check or money order.

“I love after school program because we eat snacks and have fun and craft”

- Asher 3rd grade

“In after school program I like being here because I like making new friends”

- Aleem 2nd grade

“ I like playing with the microscopes and the building sets, we don’t get to play with things like this anywhere else”

-Tariq 7th grade

Dear colleague,

Last month, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) issued a communication regarding the estimated timing for completion of the first “PCCD-developed” Act 55 training for school employees.

The development of this training curriculum and accompanying asynchronous training modules has been ongoing since May 2023 in collaboration with the project’s vendor, Risk and Strategic Management Corporation (RSM). As noted in the previous communication, PCCD anticipated that the first module, Behavioral Health Awareness, would be available by the last week in September, with Behaviors of Concern and Substance Use Awareness modules following shortly behind. Unfortunately, due to unanticipated delays, this timeline has shifted.

PCCD has been assured by RSM that the Behavioral Health Awareness module will be complete and available on the School Safety & Security Training and Technical Assistance webpage (https://pak12ssstp.org) no later than October 13, 2023. The next two modules to be posted to the webpage will be Behaviors of Concern and Situational Awareness and these modules will be available beginning in the last week of October or first week in November. The timeline for the remaining modules is still consistent with the previous communication and modules will be posted to the training webpage on a rolling basis. Once posted, the online modules will be available asynchronously and may be taken by employees at any time.

PCCD and RSM continue to work diligently to provide widespread access to high quality training that meets the Act 55 standards and apologize for any inconvenience this delay causes.

PCCD Staff

Working with Trainers to bring program in November or December. (Will update and send out invitations when date is confirmed

Each presented training will take an estimated 3-4 hours (half day) either in the morning or afternoon based on availability or hold two trainings in one day if the need arises. There would be no cost to the attendees.

It is recommended to invite 1-4 participants per school district. This training is to provide training and resources to dedicated trainers that will be going back to their school entities to train their own school employees (K-12). Also, the training will be open to non-public schools. Invitations will also be for certain IU Staff as well.