In the fall of 2007, Governor Joe Manchin awarded federally funded prevention implementation grants to Barbour, Cabell, Calhoun, Doddridge, Fatette, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mercer,
Mingo, Morgan, Ohio, Pocahontas, Raleigh, Randolph, and Wood counties.
The counties are highest in need in regard to substance abuse related issues and
appropriately equipped to tackle their local concerns. Prevention implementation
includes activities such as media campaigns to raise community awareness of substance
abuse related issues, parenting programs, retailer stings to prevent the sale
of alcohol to minors, drug-free activities for youth, school-based curriculum
such as the Too Good For Drugs Program, and community-based programs such as Communities
Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol.
OVERVIEW/BACKGROUND
In 2004, West Virginia was awarded a more than 11 million dollar federal
grant for community-based prevention. The five-year Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (SPF SIG) is intended to build prevention capacity and infrastructure at the state and local levels;
prevent the onset and reduce the progress of substance abuse including childhood
and underage drinking; and reduce substance abuse and substance abuse-related
problems in communities.
Most of WV's SPF SIG funding is being re-awarded to support local sub-grantee prevention activity planning and implementation. Early in 2006, prevention planning grants were awarded to entities in each of the 53 counties that applied. Since then, counties have attended Regional Learning Opportunities and developed their County Prevention Partnerships and county-wide prevention plans. In the meantime, The WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being developed a data-driven process/plan for distributing prevention implementation grants in West Virginia. This process
is best described as a “highest need” planning model. Counties of
highest need with regard to problems associated with substance abuse were identified
with a Substance Abuse Well-Being Index (SAWB). The SAWB was developed from
a comprehensive repository of epidemiological indicators including substance
abuse consumption and consequence data. In 2007, 12 counties were awarded prevention implementation grants. The counties were highest in need in regard to substance abuse related issues and appropriately
equipped to tackle their local concerns. Since then, the twelve have further
refined their comprehensive county prevention plans and received approval from
the WV Partnership to Promote Community Well-Being to move ahead. In addition
to the twelve implementing counties, ten other high need WV counties were awarded
funds early in 2007 to continue their prevention planning efforts. Several of
the continued planning counties are among the 17 counties that received prevention
implementation funding in October 2007.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Complete details about WV's SPF SIG Implementation are available in WV SPF SIG Strategic Implementation Plan Phase I (pdf) and WV SPF SIG Strategic Implementation Plan Phase II (pdf).