Prevention
The Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse provides services through a network of contractors who operate prevention programs. The Division monitors these providers and their staffs, who must meet state certification standards. Preventing substance abuse not only prevents the tragic consequences of addiction, but allows for better use of the limited resources available to the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Therefore, the division strives to reduce the number of persons needing treatment through an extensive prevention effort.
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.
Desired Outcomes
The Division's prevention efforts seek to achieve the following outcomes:
- Decrease binge drinking among college students
- Increase age of first substance use by Missouri youth
- Alcohol
- Cigarettes/tobacco
- Marijuana
- Decrease the numbers of youth reporting ever having used substances
- Decrease the numbers of youth reporting use of substances in the past 30 days
- The Division's prevention efforts seek to positively impact the following risk factors for substance use by youth:
- Perception of risk/harm of substance use
- Involvement with antisocial peers
- Attitudes favorable to use
- Attachment to school
- Perceived favorability of community laws and norms toward drug use
- Perceived availability of drugs and alcohol
Community- and School-Based Prevention Programs
Program Description
There are five major components of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse's prevention system: Community 2000, school-based initiative, community-based services for youth and others (formerly known as "high risk youth programs"), regional support centers, and statewide training and resource center. These components combine to create a continuum of prevention services available to all populations and all regions of the state.
Community 2000
Community 2000 is a network of volunteer, community teams focusing on reducing the incidence of substance use and abuse in their communities and changing community norms toward substance use by youth and others. Organization and development of Community 2000 teams was initiated in 1987. Each team is composed of community volunteers from the area served. Teams receive technical assistance and training from the regional support centers on a variety of topics related to their organization development and to organizing and implementing prevention strategies. A 1998 evaluation of the Community 2000 program concluded that Community 2000 teams have the potential for making a difference in their communities. There are approximately 200 volunteer groups registered with the Community 2000 program.
Regional Support Centers
Regional Support Centers (RSC) are the primary source of technical assistance support for the Community 2000 teams. The goal of the RSC is to facilitate development of teams capable of making changes in substance use patterns in their community. Each RSC has a mobilizer or prevention specialist who works directly with the teams in his or her area and assists with the development of teams and task forces in communities that desire to develop one. Also, through their tobacco retailer education activities, the RSC play a key role in Missouri's efforts to limit the sales of tobacco products to underage youth.
Missouri SPIRIT (School-based Initiative)
The goal of Missouri SPIRIT is to support the development and implementation of a continuum of evidence-based substance abuse prevention services in all public school grades kindergarten through 12.
Community-based Services
Community-based services for youth and others are provided by community based nonprofit organizations. These services include programs targeted to youth at high-risk of early use of alcohol and other drugs and replications of model, evidence-based programs.
Statewide Training and Resource Center
The Statewide Training and Resource Center (STRC) conducts a variety of activities and programs on behalf of the Division and the overall state prevention system. The STRC provides resources, training, and technical assistance for the RSC and community-based service providers; also, STRC presents a number of statewide, prevention conferences and workshops throughout the year. STRC also operates a consultant resource bank with resources available to the prevention community, administers the Community 2000 mini-grant program, and operates the statewide RADAR resource site.
Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free
a unique coalition of Governors' spouses, Federal agencies, and public and private organizations, is an initiative to prevent the use of alcohol by children ages 9 to 15. It is the only national effort that focuses on alcohol use in this age group. http://www.alcoholfreechildren.org.
