TOPEKA —
The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) Behavioral Health Services Commission has selected awardees to receive more than $367,000 in FY25 Kansas Prevention Collaborative-Community
Initiative (KPCCI) grants. The goal of KPCCI is to reduce and prevent substance abuse in identified communities and enrich prevention efforts across the state by implementing and sustaining effective, culturally competent prevention strategies.
Grantees will create a comprehensive, community-based strategic plan that will result in community-driven strategies to reduce underage drinking, youth marijuana use, shared risk, and protective factors and produce sustainable systems change. Communities
will utilize the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) model designed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to assess
their local needs, build capacity, and create a plan.
The KPCCI-funded Introduction and Planning Coalitions’ goal is to focus on community mobilization to increase readiness to address substance use/abuse issues related to alcohol use, marijuana use, fentanyl awareness, and vaping use. These funds
are intended for the focus of primary prevention efforts directed at individuals not identified as needing treatment services.
Ten Kansas coalitions will receive grant funding:
- Kingman County Health Coalition
- Miami County Mental Health Initiative
- Woodson County Coalition
- Barber County United
- Medical Society of Sedgwick
- Liberal Area Coalition for Families
- Healthy Bourbon County Action, Inc.
- Youth Educational Empowerment Program
- Neosho County Agency Resource Team (NCART)
- Republic County
“KDADS is excited to be able to support and empower these community-based organizations in the development of sustainable prevention plans,” KDADS Behavioral Health Services Commissioner Drew Adkins said. “This initiative
and these funds are a significant step toward fostering a strong community focused on SUD prevention efforts among youth and young adults.”
Utilizing funding and technical assistance, community coalitions will analyze local data that is contributing to substance abuse within their identified geographic area. Resources and technical assistance will be provided to review the local assessment
profile, logic model, and action plan to address these issues using the five-step Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) process (i.e., assessment, capacity building, planning, implementation, and evaluation). This will also include reviewing plans
for sustainability, cultural competence, and evaluation.
The KPCCI program is intended to reduce and prevent substance use/abuse for youth and young adults in communities across the state and enrich prevention efforts through the implementation and sustainability of effective, culturally competent prevention
strategies. KDADS and the Kansas Prevention Collaborative (KPC) support communities, including training and technical assistance, to ensure that the grantees have the best plan to build capacity and establish a sustainability plan to execute effective,
evidence-based strategies and activities in the community.
The coalitions awarded grants will be supported in their efforts by KDADS and its partners in the KPC.
About the Kansas Prevention Collaborative
The Kansas Prevention Collaborative was created in 2015 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, visit https://www.kdads.ks.gov/commissions/behavioral-health/services-and-programs
.
The KPC’s website can be viewed here: http://kansaspreventioncollaborative.org.