Boone County Alliance (BCA) Partnerships for Success will serve 19,828 children and youth up to age 18 and the entire population of Boone County, Kentucky (139,093), with a focus on underserved economically disadvantaged students, to prevent substance misuse and promote mental health, and particularly regarding prevention of vaping, marijuana use, and suicide and promotion of related mental health conditions.
Strategies, interventions, and activities of the project will be structured using SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework and include:
1) Regular assessment of current needs in the communities of Boone County;
2) Building capacity by developing required plans and documents, identifying gaps in partnerships, including partnerships with state and national technical assistance providers; conducting monthly meetings and Executive Committee meetings; and developing infrastructure to support eventual identity as a freestanding nonprofit agency for BCA;
3) Strategic planning to incorporate a wide range of partners including youth to create data-based plans and guide coalition infrastructure development;
4) Implementation of a) Information Dissemination, b) Education, c) Alternatives; d) Problem Identification and Referral; e) Community-based Process; and f) Environmental Supports and Changes through activities targeting vaping, marijuana use and suicide. Some of those activities include: Red Ribbon Week, Operation Parent, 988 suicide and crisis hotline promotion, encouraging schools to implement evidence-based prevention curriculums, and other activities to meet emerging community needs as identified by assessments;
5) Evaluation to provide ongoing data about project activities to ensure continuous improvement and annual summary of progress in support of regular reports to the funder, community, and coalition.
The goal of the project is to reduce the onset and progression of substance misuse and its related problems by supporting the development and delivery of community-based substance misuse prevention and mental health promotion services in Boone County, Kentucky. Objectives are: 1: By September 29, 2028 BCA will increase reach to 80% of county residents with prevention messaging, as measured by activity logs. 2: BCA will increase reach of prevention messaging and individual and small group services focused on vaping, marijuana, and suicide prevention to 85% of students in Boone County schools, as measured by school attendance and activity logs. 3: By September 29, 2028 student reports of perception of harm of vaping among Boone County students will increase by 2% per year, as measured by the KIP survey. 4: By September 29, 2028 student reports of perception of harm of marijuana use among Boone County students will increase by 2% each year, as measured by the KIP survey. 5: By September 29, 2028 student reports of suicide attempts among Boone County students will decrease by 2% per year, as measured by the KIP survey. 6: By September 29, 2028 strengthened infrastructures will increase capacity and sustainability, as measured by artifacts and documents on file.
139,093 people including 19,828 children and youth will be served annually, with a similar number served each year of the five-year project.