Prevention Services - News & Events

April 2, 2007

Listing of News Stories and Events

CÓNSUL GENERAL DE MÉXICO ALIENTA A NIÑAS DEL PROGRAMA
“SOY ÚNICA SOY LATINA”

De izquierda a derecha: Remedios Gómez Arnau, Cónsul General de México en Atlanta; Pierluigi Mancini,, Director ejecutivo de CETPA; y Dra. Rowe, Directora del Programa de Prevención del Abuso de Sustancias del Estado de Georgia.

El fin de semana pasado la cónsul General de México, Remedios Gómez Arnau, acudió a la clausura del programa anual “Soy Única Soy Latina”, que la Clínica de Educación, Tratamiento y Prevención de la Adicción, (CETPA) realiza con niñas en diferentes escuelas, con la finalidad de aumentar el autoestima y prevenir que se involucren en las pandillas, las drogas y el alcohol.

Durante su intervención, la Cónsul Gómez Arnau felicitó al Dr. Pierluigi Mancini, Director Ejecutivo de la clínica, por su labor, y alentó a las niñas a continuar con sus estudios manteniéndose alejadas de los vicios y con la meta del éxito.

Top

METHAMPHETAMINE: The County Response

The Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) released a DVD entitled: Methamphetamine: The County Response. This DVD was developed by county commissioners and can be used at County Commision Board meetings, work sessions, with county employees, community organizations, school groups, the faith community, libraries, business groups, local chamber of commerce, civics groups, services organizations and public access television.

The DVD was produced by the Georgia Technology Authority (GTA) in cooperation with ACCG staff. This 10 minute long DVD offers an important message about the dangers of methamphetamine. It educates viewers on the strain meth puts on a wide range of county resources.

In the DVD, several Georgia county commissioners comment on the impact of methamphetamine in their counties. You also hear from a juvenile court judge, the immediate past president of the National Association of Counties (NACo), a Department of Natrual Resources Official and a Georgia Bureau of Investigation chemist who all emphasize the importance of educating your community about the dangers of meth.

Top

Statewide Underage Drinking Prevention Initiative Begins in Georgia

Atlanta – The Council on Alcohol and Drugs (The Council), a Georgia Chamber of Commerce affiliate organization, will soon implement the Georgia Underage Drinking Prevention Initiative.

The Office of Prevention Services and Programs in the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases (MHDDAD) at the Georgia Department of Public Health, awarded The Council a contract to execute the initiative, with funds from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), which is chaired by SAMHSA administrator Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W., held a conference in fall 2005 about the nation’s underage drinking problem.

Representatives from several government agencies attended the conference, and together they developed a comprehensive plan for combating underage drinking. Among other activities, the committee and its members brought together teams of senior state officials, and they received the U.S. Surgeon General’s, Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., commitment to issue a call for action to curb the underage-drinking epidemic.

“Over the years, we’ve made great progress in reducing tobacco and illicit drug use among our nation’s young people,” Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) at the U.S. Department of HHS, said. “Underage alcohol use has been a tougher and more persistent problem. However, the solutions are well within our grasp,” he continued.

ICCPUD’s plan centers on three objectives: strengthening the nation’s commitment to fighting underage drinking, reducing the demand for and availability of alcohol among youth, and using research to improve the effectiveness of prevention efforts.

The Georgia Underage Drinking Prevention Initiative is a response to the Surgeon General’s call to action.

“Communities throughout Georgia are dealing with the problems caused by underage drinking and the toll it takes on society,” Chuck Wade, President & CEO of The Council on Alcohol and Drugs, said. “The Council is committed to planning and implementing a comprehensive, statewide, underage drinking prevention program focused on proving that underage drinking is not inevitable. Underage drinking is illegal, unhealthy, and unacceptable, but the good news is, it is preventable,” he added.

The Georgia Underage Drinking Prevention Initiative calls for a partnership to unite adults and youth to increase public awareness and reduce underage alcohol use in communities throughout Georgia. A prevention education campaign will help local community coalitions host Town Hall meetings about underage drinking prevention.

The Initiative will also create Responsible Sales & Service Workshops (RASS) to provide owners and staff of alcohol-licensed establishments with valuable resources and information to prevent sales to underage youth in college communities.

The announcement corresponds perfectly with Red Ribbon Week, which is October 23-31 in Georgia. Red Ribbon Week is honored throughout the country as a time to promote drug-free education and prevention, and to increase awareness of drug-free living.

The Council named Simone Powell, M Ed., Project Director for the Georgia Underage Drinking Prevention Initiative. She was previously the Communications Director for the Georgia Alcohol Policy Partnership (GAPP) with The Council on Alcohol and Drugs, and she has several years experience as a community coalition organizer and in prevention education. The Initiative’s Program Director will be Dr. Gregg Raduka, Director of Prevention/Intervention for The Council.

The Council on Alcohol and Drugs is a 36-year-old, non-profit alcohol and drug prevention agency and an affiliate of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. With funding from the Georgia Department of Public Health MHDDAD Office of Prevention Services, The Council has renewed its efforts in the prevention and reduction of underage alcohol consumption in Georgia. You may visit The Council’s Web site at www.livedrugfree.org.

For more information, contact Simone Powell at The Council on Alcohol and Drugs at (404) 223-2484 or e-mail spowell@livedrugfree.org.

Top

SAMHSA Awards States $145 Million in Strategic Prevention Framework Incentive Grants (SPF-SIG) Sept 2006

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced 16 grants totaling $145 million over five years to implement Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grants (SPF SIGs) to advance community-based programs for substance abuse prevention, mental health promotion and mental illness prevention. Dennis O. Romero, Acting Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, announced the grants during his speech at the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association’s annual conference in Oak Brook, Illinois.

The strategic prevention framework is built on a community-based risk and protective factors approach to prevention and a series of guiding principles that can be utilized at the federal, state/tribal and community levels. The SPF requires states and communities to systematically assess their prevention needs based on epidemiological data, build their prevention capacity, strategically plan for and implement effective community prevention programs, policies and practices, and evaluate their efforts for outcomes. Although the direct recipients of SPF SIG funds are states and federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations, SAMHSA envisions the SPF SIGs being implemented in partnerships between the states/tribes and communities.

"Substance abuse prevention, just like the prevention of obesity or smoking, involves work by families and schools, faith organizations and health professionals, corrections officials and youth leaders," said Assistant Surgeon General Eric Broderick, D.D.S, M.P.H., Acting Deputy Administrator of SAMHSA. "People from all sectors of a community are needed to help build resilience and reduce risk fa ctors that affect the decision to reject substance abuse. Similarly, funding streams from multiple sources can come together to build a comprehensive approach to prevention that spans organizations and individuals at the local and state levels. The grants being awarded today help achieve both of those goals."

The funds enable states, in collaboration with communities, to implement a process known to promote youth development, reduce risk-taking behaviors, build on assets, and prevent problem behaviors. These grants enable the states to provide leadership, support and technical assistance to help ensure that participating communities are successful, as measured by abstinence from drug use and alcohol abuse, reduction in substance abuse-related crime, attainment of employment or enrollment in school, increased stability in family and living conditions, increased access to services, and increased social connectedness.

The 16 awards are for up to $2.1 million in the first year and are renewable for up to a tota l of five years. The total funding for 2006 is $29 million. Continuation of these awards is subject to both availability of funds and progress achieved by awardees.

Georgia Department of Public Health, Atlanta was awarded a SAMHSA SPF-SIG -- $2,093,000 for the first year will support an extensive state/local collaboration to build and implement a data-driven prevention system that provides tools and supports to promote substance abuse prevention and health promotion. The program will create unified structures for local planning and programming, and provide guided funding for local delivery of evidence-based prevention strategies statewide.

Top

DHR LAUNCHES FIRST STATE-WIDE ACCESS LINE
FOR MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES: 1-800-715-4225

ATLANTA - Effective July 1, the State of Georgia will have a single toll-free phone number that people can call 24 hours, seven days a week , and be connected to local services for mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse. The Georgia Crisis & Access Line (GCAL), 1-800-715-4225, is the first state-wide access number and is funded by the Georgia Department of Public Health (DCH) Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases (MHDDAD). In addition, a website, , will offer a list of providers and services. The state-wide number is one in a series of improvements being made to Georgia’s behavioral health care system in response to the recommendations of Governor Sonny Perdue’s Commission for a New Georgia.

"Before, there were numerous numbers throughout the state which added a great deal of confusion; now, Georgia families only need to know one number: 1-800-715-4225,” said B.J. Walker, Commissioner for the Georgia Department of Public Health.

"When someone is in crisis, it’s critical to know where to get help,” stated Gwen Skinner, Director for MHDDAD. “Trained counselors will help them right then and there over the phone. If they need long-term care, they’ll be screened and then linked to appropriate local services.”

GCAL will be managed and operated by Behavioral Health Link (BHL), an Atlanta-based health and crisis call center, which has been handling single-point-of-entry services in Georgia for eight years. Over the next several months, MHDDAD and BHL will work diligently to increase statewide awareness of GCAL and where Georgians can get help.

Top

National Alcohol & Drug Addiction Recovery Month Symposium, Braves Game, Walk & Run
Downtown Atlanta on Sept. 15 & 16, 2006

• Featured Presenter on Sept 15 (12-4pm) at the Capital Education Center is H. Westley Clark, M.D., Director, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
• Continuing Education Credits available for Symposium attendees
• Receive free Braves Ticket with registration until Sept. 1, 2006
• 3K Walk in Piedmont Park with free food and entertainment Sept. 16, 2006

Top

GUIDE/GTI Conference 2006

Dr. Rowe extended the welcome at the Middle School Teen Institute conference in June. It kicked off a week of learning, strategic planning and team building! Between the two weeks, they worked with over 400 youth and adults representing 51 Youth Action Teams from 27 counties. Attendees commented that these were the best Teen Institute conference they’d ever attended. Events such as this ensure that Georgia’s youth are able to access and participate in leadership and substance abuse prevention opportunities.

Top

CSAP has scheduled a WEBCAST on methamphetamine prevention entitled: Meth Prevention: What You and Your Community CAN Do!

Click on the link just prior to 1:00 pm ET, there will be a bit of video running on the site for most of the half hour preceding the broadcast.

Satellite coordinates are attached in a separate document.

Should technical assistance be required, please contact: Nancy Rybacki at 717-221-2996. Press "0" for the operator in the event she does not respond and the operator will page her and connect you.

Top

Cigarette Use Among High School Students – US, 1991-2005

Analyses of the CDC’s National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS) found that although lifetime, current, and current frequent cigarette use among high school students was stable or increased during the 1990s and then decreased significantly from the late 1990s to 2003, prevalence was unchanged during 2003–2005. According to the report released today, in 2005, 23 percent of high school students in the U.S. were current smokers, down from 36.4 percent in 1997. Factors that may have contributed to the lack of decline in cigarette use include smaller inflation-adjusted annual increases in the retail price of cigarettes during 2003–2005 compared with 1997–2001, less funding for comprehensive state-wide tobacco-use prevention programs, substantial increases in tobacco industry expenditures on tobacco advertising and promotion in the United States from $5.7 billion in 1997 to $15.2 billion in 2003, and potentially less youth exposure to mass media smoking-prevention campaigns.

See http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/mmwrnews/n060707.htm

Top