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Model Program

SOAR (Skills, Opportunities, and Recognition)

University of Washington
9275 Third Avenue NE, Suite 401
Seattle, WA 98115
http://www.depts.washington.edu/sdrg/

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Contact Information:
David Hawkins, PhD
Director
206.685.1997
sdrg@u.washington.edu

Program Specification:

Emphasis:

Gender:

Rating:

Intervention

Both

Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness

Age/Grade Level:

Target Settings:

Target Groups:

Elementary
Middle School

Rural
Urban
Suburban
Inner City

Individuals

Ethnicity:

Other Participation Criteria:

All Ethnicities

Description:

The Skills, Opportunity, and Recognition (SOAR) program has its roots in the Social Development Model, which posits that positive social bonds can reduce antisocial behavior and delinquency. It is a multidimensional intervention designed for the general population and high-risk children who are attending elementary or middle school. The program seeks to decrease juveniles' problem behaviors by working with children and their parents and teachers. It intervenes early in childrens' development to increase prosocial bonds, to strengthen attachment and commitment to schools, and to decrease delinquency.

Program Descriptors Include:
Academic Improvement, Behavior Management/Discipline, Family/Parental Involvement, Life Skills Training

Starting Date: Unspecified
Students Served Per Year: Unspecified
Last Verified: 2009

Risk Factors:

Protective Factors:

Program addresses the following:

Individual factors

  • Parenthood
  • High-risk social behavior
  • Low achievement
  • Lack of effort
  • Misbehavior

Community factors

  • Youth social attitudes

Program promotes the following:

Relationships

  • Opportunities and rewards for pro-social involvement
  • Clear social norms
  • Good relationships with parents, peers, and teachers

Independence

  • Healthy/conventional beliefs and standards

Competence

  • Social competencies

Optimism

  • High expectations by community, family, school, and self

Program Resources:

Annual Cost:

Unspecified

Funding Sources Include:

Program Staff Includes:

Unspecified

Teachers
Parents

Materials Used:

Supporting / Partner Organizations:

Unspecified

Unspecified

Evaluation Information:

Results of an ongoing, 20-year quasi-experimental study in Seattle, Washington, indicate that only the intervention that began in the early grades had long-term impact on post-graduation outcomes. At the age 18 follow-up, full intervention students, compared to comparison groups, showed statistically significant outcomes. These include: improvement in commitment and attachment to school, improvement in self-reported achievement, improvement in self-reported involvement in school misbehavior, lower likelihood of committing violent delinquent acts, lower likelihood of heavy alcohol use in the past year, and lower likelihood of having been or having gotten someone pregnant.

How evaluation data was collected:
Data collected and analyzed at state or organizational level