Certified Prevention Specialist CPS Practice Exam

If a prevention specialist encounters a new community with a different culture, what should be the first step?

1. Go to the community and ask to meet the community leaders

2. Review the literature and gather academic information

3. Find a key informant

4. Assess the community's readiness

The correct answer is: Go to the community and ask to meet the community leaders

Meeting with community leaders is crucial because it establishes trust and rapport within a new cultural environment. Community leaders often hold significant influence and insight about the values, expectations, and needs of the community. Engaging with them can provide a deeper understanding of the community's dynamics and help build collaborative relationships, which are essential for effective prevention work. While gathering academic information and reviewing literature can offer valuable background, direct engagement with the community provides context that academic resources may lack. Identifying a key informant is also an important strategy, but it typically comes after establishing initial connections with community leaders who can facilitate further introductions. Assessing the community's readiness is crucial, but without first building relationships and understanding the cultural context through community leaders, such an assessment may be less effective or may not accurately reflect the community's true disposition. Engaging with community leaders thus lays a solid foundation for all subsequent actions.