Stories in this Issue:
Federal Grant to Help North Carolina Address Substance Abuse Prevention
School District Gets Record Grant to Reduce Underage Drinking
Recent Collegiate Study Says “Normal” Not To Drink
New Phone Number Brings New Help to NC Residents
by Jane Williams and Robin Lindner
RALEIGH – The Strategic Prevention Framework-State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) is a lengthy way of saying North Carolina is getting help from the federal government to find ways to address substance abuse issues in local communities. The funding, a $2.3 million award from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), through the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) will assist North Carolina to implement the entire process of the SPF-SIG, which includes a state-wide needs assessment.
For the past year, the state has focused on working with a committee called the State Epidemiological Workgroup (SEW), lead by Dr. Phillip Graham of Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in Raleigh-Durham. Findings from the research on substance abuse data indicated that alcohol-related crashes and fatalities are at the top of the list of most sweeping problems that face our state. Dr. Graham presented a comprehensive report to the state that highlights this finding, which will allow our state to direct the SPF-SIG funds to this issue.
Dr. Al Stein-Seroussi, the overall evaluator of the project from the Pacific Institute of Evaluation and Research (PIRE) in Chapel Hill states that "across the board, alcohol is one of the most prevalent problems, affecting all ages and backgrounds."
While understanding the problem may be simple, understanding the solution is not. Each community receiving state money will be responsible for creating and submitting a proposal unique to that particular area’s struggles with drunken-driving fatalities.
“One city plagued by drinking and driving on a Friday night after all the bars have shut down would have a different plan than a more rural community seeing alcohol-related crashes on a severely winding road,” says Stein-Seroussi.
In addition, the proposal must follow the SPF guidelines, on the state and local level. There are five steps in the process: assessing needs, mobilizing community efforts, strategic planning, implementing evidence-based practices, and monitoring the results.
North Carolina and all its localities are still in the “needs assessment” phase. The state has identified drunken-driving as the problem, but it has not yet selected the communities which have the greatest need for help with that issue. The criteria for deciding which areas need the money most have not yet been set forth.
Deanna Hale Holland with Coastal Horizons Center, Inc. says the SPF-SIG will leave North Carolina with safer, healthier communities. “What’s special about this is that it will give us the chance to make a large change. The goal of this grant program is to build the capacity of cities and towns to find and create solutions themselves. The program won’t just disappear after the money is spent. It will have a lasting impact.”
The state has identified four geographical areas designated as Centers for Prevention Resources (CPRs) that will be used to help prepare staff and assist communities in creating plans and specific strategies for tackling this problem.
Stein-Seroussi acknowledges there are several substance abuse prevention causes to choose from where the funds can be used effectively. He believes, however, alcohol abuse will continue to kill unless whole communites create their own individual ways to address the growing number of alcohol-related fatalities.
“Alcohol is so socially acceptable. We have to make it not ‘cool.’ Illicit drug use is a problem, but alcohol is more frequently abused, and so more frequently people die.”
Further questions about the SPF-SIG initiative and the needs assessment should be directed to Dr. Janice Petersen, Project Administrator at the Division of MH/DD/SAS.