The Injury-Free NC (IFNC) Academy is a training and program development resource for injury and violence prevention practitioners in North Carolina. Each cycle of the IFNC Academy focuses on a timely topic affecting North Carolinians. The 2018 Academy focused on using a shared risk and protective factors approach to prevent multiple forms of violence. Training activities focused on developing skills in primary prevention (preventing violence before it occurs), program planning, and implementing and evaluating evidenced-based and evidence-informed strategies to prevent violence among diverse populations.

Five teams participated in the 2018 Academy, four representing counties across North Carolina and one team from Louisiana that joined to learn about the Injury-Free NC Academy with plans to adapt it for a Louisiana audience. The teams were:

  • Team Alamance: Alamance Citizens for the Prevention of Youth Violence
  • Team Charlotte: Reconstructing how violence is viewed and addressed in the Arbor Glen Community
  • Team Orange (Orange Resilience Initiative): Confronting toxic stress with science and hope
  • Team Louisiana: Creating the Injury-Free Louisiana Academy
  • Team Wake/Durham: Black LeadHer Collective and Black family community cohesion and engagement

Team Spotlights

Team Alamance: Preventing Youth Violence

Team Alamance included members from the Alamance County Department of Social Services, Alamance Citizens for a Drug-Free Community, the Alamance Chapter of the NAACP, and the Burlington Police Department. Below are some of their achievements resulting from their participation in the Academy:

  • Mapped available resources and identified gaps; and then created a community resource directory
  • Developed a mobile recreation unit and hosted summer resource pop-up parties in Target parking lots around the county
  • Trained all 138 police officers on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), risk factors associated with the family structure and on resilience as a protective factor
  • Analyzed local data to understand the relationship between minority youth and police; and found that police have disproportionate contact with minority youth. Received a grant and training from the Center for Children’s Law and Policy to address the issue and increase diversion for non-violent youth while improving community relations with the police department
  • Developed and expanded community partnerships in Martown neighborhood
  • Department of Social Services is working with mothers and children to understand and deal with parenting issues at an early age to raise more resilient children
  • City of Burlington hired a youth solutions coordinator to help prevent youth violence in the community. Also, they plan to review all Burlington Police Department youth programs and increase their use of evidence-based programs

Team Louisiana: Establishing an Injury-Free Academy in LA

Members of Team Louisiana represented a variety of organizations, including the Louisiana Office of Public Health, Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana, The Haven, and Children’s Cabinet. Below are some of their achievements resulting from their participation in the Academy:

  • Presented Injury-Free Academy LA (IFLA) model to stakeholders, including a local health department medical director and a maternal and child health coalition, and was successful in gaining buy-in from stakeholders
  • Adapting and replicating Injury-Free NC Academy model in nine public health regions in Louisiana. Piloting program with regional academies while building capacity to eventually conduct a statewide academy
  • Incorporating IFLA into grant applications to improve the sustainability of local programs
  • In order to have more providers adopting a shared risk and protective factors approach to violence prevention, the IFLA team is integrating this approach into the grants that they manage
  • First pilot of the IFLA will begin in early 2019

Congratulations to all the teams for their amazing work and accomplishments! The IPRC and the NC Injury and Violence Prevention Branch are proud to continue to build the capacity of teams to prevent injury and violence across North Carolina. Check out the new applications for our 2019 Academies here (Developing Syringe Exchange Programs) and here (Using a Shared Risk and Protective Factors Approach to Prevent Violence).