WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced an $11.75 million five-year Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant to Wyoming to implement SAMHSA’s new Strategic Prevention Framework. The purpose of the grant is to advance community-based programs for substance abuse prevention, mental health promotion, and mental illness prevention. Wyoming will receive $2.35 million per year for each of five years.
The funds will be used in communities across the state to implement a five-step process known to promote youth development, reduce risk-taking behaviors, build on assets, and prevent problem behaviors. The five steps are: (1) conduct needs assessments; (2) build state and local capacity; (3) develop a comprehensive strategic plan; (4) implement evidence-based prevention policies, programs and practices; and (5) monitor and evaluate program effectiveness, sustaining what has worked well.
SAMHSA Administrator Charles Curie said: “This new grant is built on a community-based risk and protective factors approach to prevention. For example, family conflict, low school readiness, and poor social skills increase the risk for conduct disorders and depression, which in turn increase the risk for adolescent substance abuse, delinquency, and violence. Protective factors such as strong family bonds, social skills, opportunities for school success, and involvement in community activities can foster resilience and mitigate the influence of risk factors. The grant will bring together multiple funding streams from multiple sources in Wyoming to implement a comprehensive approach to prevention that cuts across existing programs and systems.”
Under the new grant program, the state will provide leadership, technical support and monitoring to ensure that participating communities are successful. The success of the grant will be measured by specific measurable outcomes, among them: abstinence from drug use and alcohol abuse, reduction in substance abuse-related crime, attainment of employment or enrollment in school, increased stability in family and living conditions, increased access to services, and increased social connectedness.
Wyoming will be funded up to five years to create a Strategic Prevention Framework in partnership with community-level organizations. The partnership will prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance abuse, including childhood and underage drinking; reduce substance abuse-related problems in communities; and build prevention capacity and infrastructure at the state and community levels.
In implementing the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant, Wyoming will establish a State Epidemiological Workgroup and a Regional Community Coordinator System; implement evidence-based prevention programs in communities; modify programs, policies, practices, and strategic plans based on the annual collection of data; and develop a data-driven, decision making framework to address program sustainability, effectiveness, and funding issues.
Wyoming will use the grant to: 1) prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance abuse, including childhood and underage drinking, 2) reduce substance abuse related problems in communities, and 3) build prevention capacity and infrastructure at the state and community levels. The grant will build on the strengths and capacities developed over the past four years with the establishment of the Substance Abuse Division in the Wyoming Department of Health and its collaborations with the Wyoming Department of Education. The grant will allow Wyoming to move beyond its early successes to develop a more mature and comprehensive infrastructure for substance abuse prevention.
With funding from the grant, Wyoming will design a Comprehensive Statewide Strategic Plan for Prevention. This plan will articulate a vision for prevention services by identifying priorities; describing necessary infrastructure and programming needs; identifying training and resource needs involving public and private entities in planning across the continuum of care; providing strategies for organizing and implementing prevention efforts; identifying key performance measures and outcomes; and planning for sustainability. Communities that have identified underage drinking as a primary focus will receive priority funding.
SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment and mental health service delivery systems.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
CONTACT: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration pressoffice, +1-240-276-2130
Web site: http://www.samhsa.gov/