Monday, May 13, 2024
5/13/2024
The DART Prevention Coalition's (DART) PFS Southern Ocean County Program intends to develop a model of collaboration that will address the specific needs of the southern half of Ocean County, an area disproportionately affected by the intersecting impacts of the economic recession, Superstorm Sandy, and the ongoing opioid epidemic; and the lack of availability and accessibility to services. With a focus on the development and use of best practices, DART's PFS Southern Ocean County Program will emphasize improvements in interagency coordination in order to identify gaps in service, enhance existing prevention infrastructure and embark on capacity building efforts uniquely tailored to southern Ocean County. In this region it is primarily the faith-based organizations that have served as the hub of the community and access point to social services. The program will build the capacity of the existing informal infrastructure to create an enhanced, fortified, and sustainable network of local faith-based organizations that will be trained and prepared to identify and select comprehensive, data-driven prevention strategies in order to address youth and adult substance use. Founded in 2009, DART serves all of Ocean County, NJ and its approximately 592,000 residents. DART is comprised of 100 community leaders focusing on the reduction of substance use across the lifespan in Ocean County through community-wide efforts including policy change, youth prevention groups, community education and technical assistance. The racial makeup of the county is 91% White, 3% Black or African American, with Hispanic or Latino of any race were making up 8% of the population. The median age for residents is 42 years, with an estimated 24% of the county's population under 18. With an abstract line delineated by the NJ Pine Barrens, the southern portion of Ocean County comprises more than 50% of the overall land mass of the state and is home to over 112,443 residents. As a result, the southern portion of Ocean County has not seen the same development of infrastructure, business development, and provision of social service access points as the northern region of the county. The goals of the PFS Southern Ocean County Program are to: 1) develop a comprehensive prevention infrastructure led by faith-based groups in Southern Ocean County (SOC) to address community issues related to substance use; 2) create and implement assessment tools to measure the impact of substance use on youth and community members in SOC; 3) prevent the onset of substance use in SOC youth by implementing prevention strategies within the faith-based setting that focus on risk and protective factors associated with substance use; 4) establish the Southern Ocean County Interfaith Advocacy Leadership (SOCIAL) Network; 5) increase the capacity of the SOCIAL Network to expand services across SOC to address substance use related problems such as homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration; 6) establish four new Youth Prevention Coalitions in the southern region of Ocean County; and 7) increase knowledge of the Strategic Prevention Framework for faith-based leaders and Youth Prevention Coalitions through ongoing training in partnership with CADCA and the PTTC. Outreach efforts via environmental strategies will reach the entire southern region annually with 112,443 unduplicated residents served each year and over the life of the project.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
