Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG)

Missouri was recently awarded a $2.3 million Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) to strengthen and advance community-based programs for substance abuse prevention, mental health promotion and mental illness prevention. Missouri was one of 21 states to receive the award from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The office of the Governor is the grant recipient and has designated the Department of Mental Health's Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse to administer the grant funds.

The state will be required to ensure that 85% of the grant award each year will support local prevention providers and coalitions in collecting data on substance use trends, identifying needs, assessing community readiness, and identifying and implementing evidence-based programs, policies and practices for prevention.

The Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF), as developed by SAMHSA consists of the following five steps to be conducted at both the state and local levels.

• Profile population needs, resources, and readiness to address problems and gaps in service areas.
• Mobilize and/or build capacity to address needs.
• Develop a comprehensive strategic plan.
• Implement evidence-based prevention programs and infrastructure development activities.
• Monitor process, evaluate effectiveness, sustain effective programs/activities, and improve or replace those that fail.

The completion of these steps will be realized through achievement of eight objectives and one policy priority:

• Objective 1 : Develop and sustain an epidemiological workgroup to collect, organize, interpret, and consult on use of data on the consequences of substance abuse throughout each stage of implementation of the SPF SIG.
• Objective 2 : Inform, modify, and enhance the Strategic Substance Abuse Prevention Plan that is being developed by the Governor's Advisory Committee, through use of the SPF and the epidemiological workgroup.
• Objective 3: Increase collaboration among all relevant substance abuse prevention providers.
• Objective 4: Identify culturally competent, evidence-based programming for adoption at the community level.
• Objective 5: Sustain and secure funding sources and policy initiatives to ensure quality evidence-based prevention programs, policies, and practices at the state and local levels.
• Objective 6: Establish guidelines based on the Strategic Prevention Framework to fund local evidence-based prevention programs.
• Objective 7: Provide training and technical assistance on surveillance, selection of evidence-based prevention programming, fidelity, and sustainability to communities and grant sub-recipients.
• Objective 8: Monitor and evaluate all aspects of implementation, use of data, and evidence-based programming, fidelity, and sustainability to communities and grant sub-recipients.
• Policy priority: Underage drinking is a significant problem in Missouri, it is a priority of the state to reduce its incidence and prevalence, and to increase the statewide age of first use from 12.7 to at least the national average of 15.9 by no later than 2010.

Information concerning priorities for local funding, eligibility, and the process by which communities can apply for support will be made available at a later date.

For more information about the Strategic Prevention Framework please contact:
Christine Owens, Project Director
314-877-6474 or
christine.owens@mimh.edu