Prevention - Alcohol, Tobacco, and other drugs

The Center helps college and community leaders develop, implement, and evaluate programs and policies to reduce student problems related to alcohol and other drug use and interpersonal violence. In order to produce enduring, large-scale changes that will make students’ social and cultural environment healthier and safer, the Center supports a comprehensive approach to prevention, grounded in environmental management strategies that address the institutional, community, and public policy factors related to these problems.

The National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention (National Center) provides technical assistance (TA) and training to 106 federally-funded Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) grantees and to six Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health) (PL) grantees.

This developmental study will produce and pilot an innovative family education intervention aimed at reducing teen drinking and promoting safe driver and passenger behaviors. The intervention targets families with youth 15-17 years old and capitalizes upon a teachable moment, when teen alcohol experimentation and misuse are on the rise and teens and their friends begin getting their licenses.

The MetroWest Youth Risk Behavior Survey is a ten-year initiative of the Massachusetts-based MetroWest Community Health Care Foundation to better understand and address the health needs of adolescents in the region. Surveys are being conducted biannually with middle and high school students. The first round of surveys was conducted in 2006, with over 16,000 high school students and 8,000 middle school students participating. Districts receive timely reports of their data along with technical assistance. Findings are used to identify problems, track trends, and inform local programming.

The Tribal Youth Program (TYP) Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Center addresses the need to strengthen American Indian and Alaska Native juvenile justice and other systems–education, mental health and social services, culture, recreation and employment programs–all critical to Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s mission of reducing juvenile delinquency, violence, child victimization, and increasing the safety of tribal communities.

EDC is working with the VA National Center for PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), Women’s Health Sciences Division to develop print, video, and online training materials to support the national implementation of Cognitive Processing Therapy within the Veteran’s Health Administration. EDC will also conduct a national survey of returning veterans to assess issues related to military sexual trauma.

The CAPT provides responsive, tailored, and outcomes-focused training and technical assistance to prevent and reduce substance abuse and associated public health issues across the lifespan. Funded by the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (SAMHSA/CSAP), CAPT assists CSAP grantees—including States, Jurisdictions, and Federally-recognized Tribes and tribal entities—in the application of data-driven decision-making to the selection and implementation of evidence-based practices and programs.