Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) Acting Secretary Tim Keck announced Wednesday the award of 17 grants totaling $580,000 for the Kansas Prevention Collaborative - Community Initiative (KPCCI).
Grantee organizations will use these funds to address the problems of underage drinking and/or youth marijuana use and to produce sustainable system changes in their communities to discourage those behaviors.
Secretary Keck recognized the importance of addressing substance abuse concerns locally and in an integrated fashion, saying “Data at both the state and national level underscore that a comprehensive prevention effort is the most effective approach. Research also shows a strong correlation between binge drinking and depression and suicide.”
“We know that underage drinking and other substance use is oftentimes associated with multiple behavioral health issues, so this grant will allow communities to utilize data to better understand these complex relationships,” Secretary Keck said.
“This funding will allow us to enhance our local-level prevention efforts by increasing capacity across the state,” said Sarah Fischer, Director of Prevention and Promotion Services at KDADS. “It will help communities analyze and address the presence of risk factors that can contribute to behavioral health concerns, such as adverse childhood experiences, divorce, poverty and low educational achievement.”
The 17 Kansas coalitions awarded grants include: Central Kansas Partnership, Barton County; Finney County Community Health Coalition Inc., Finney County; Haysville Healthy Habits, Sedgwick County; Safe Streets Wichita, Sedgwick County; Jefferson County Alliance of Service Councils, Jefferson County; Manhattan Area Risk Prevention Coalition, Riley County; Marion County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, Marion County; CATCH Coalition, Meade County; Morris County Anti-Drug Task Force, Morris County; Olathe Communities That Care, Johnson County; Drug Free Osage County, Osage County; Quality of Life Coalition, Dickinson County; Reno County Communities That Care Coalition, Reno County; Coalition for Children and Families, Rice County; Substance Abuse Task Force, Safe Streets, Shawnee County; Rossville Safe Streets, Shawnee County; and Sumner County Community Drug Action Team, Sumner County
The grant initiative is designed to allow communities to address local alcohol and marijuana concerns but also to explore how behavioral health concerns such as suicide and problem gambling, and depression can impact youth and adult drug use.
Communities will utilize the Strategic Prevention Framework model designed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to assess their local needs, build capacity and create a plan during this 10-month planning grant award period.
The coalitions awarded grants will be supported in their efforts by KDADS and its partners in the Kansas Prevention Collaborative (KPC).
About the Kansas Prevention Collaborative
The Kansas Prevention Collaborative was created in 2015 in an effort to integrate and innovate behavioral health prevention efforts. A partnership of several different state, educational and provider agencies, the KPC’s goal is to expand prevention efforts to be more inclusive of mental health promotion, suicide prevention and problem gambling education and awareness, as well as to increase the availability of resources to adequately fund local-level prevention and promotion strategic plans. For more information, see https://www.kdads.ks.gov/commissions/behavioral-health/consumers-and-families/services-and-programs/kpc.
The KPC’s new website can be viewed here: http://kansaspreventioncollaborative.org.