Guam PFS 2023 - The purpose of Guam PFS 2023 is to reduce substance misuse in Guam through the expansion of community-based substance misuse prevention and mental health promotion services. The proposed catchment area is the entirety of the island, with specific focus on these underserved communities: individuals of Pacific Islander descent, LGBTQIA+ youth and adults, and service members, veterans, and their families. To effectively address and impact substance misuse concerns in Guam, GBHWC must leverage the SPF PFS 2023 funding to sustain the work of Guam’s SEOW to ensure that local prevention programs and services respond to data-informed priorities and reach specific audiences who experience the most risks or demonstrates the highest needs in the island. Additionally, as Guam’s SSA, GBHWC must focus on developing and leading a strong infrastructure for delivering quality prevention services for all of Guam – an infrastructure that is facilitated by skilled and qualified prevention leaders, champions evidence-informed and community-driven initiatives, and continuously builds prevention workforce and resources that extends into the grassroots of our island community. The proposed goals for the 5-year grant period are: Goal 1) Guam’s community-based organizations will have increased capacity to offer and sustain data-driven, evidence-based substance misuse prevention and mental health promotion services, and Goal 2) Guam’s behavioral health infrastructure will be improved to where community-based prevention service providers are engaged in collaborative partnerships with GBHWC, the state mental health agency, as the direct source of prevention technical assistance and resources. To achieve these goals, GBHWC will pursue throughout the duration of the grant: Objective 1-A. By 2024, GBHWC will identify at least 3 communities that Guam PFS sub-awarded non-profit organizations will serve for the duration of the grant. Objective 1-B. By 2028, at least three (3) Guam PFS subgrantees will implement and evaluate Guam’s Community Health Improvement Plan to address substance use prevention. Objective 2-A. By 2028, GBHWC will appoint at least one (1) full-time staff to lead SEOW duties and deliverables to ensure sustainable data is available for consistent leveraging of prevention program services. Objective 2-B. By 2028, at least three (3) Community-based organizations will implement a health communication campaign framework developed by GBHWC to decrease substance misuse in their focused population. Objective 2-C. By 2026, GBHWC will on-board all prevention staff to align their knowledge, skills, and abilities with the national standards set for a Prevention Specialist. Objective 2-D. By 2028, all community-based organizations utilizing prevention subgrants through GBHWC to recruit staff will follow a standard job description and on-boarding process. Year 1 is dedicated to the development of Guam’s Community Health Improvement Plan, which will confirm the prioritized concerns and communities to be served using the SPF-PFS 2023 grant. It will include long-term goals, 5-year program objectives and strategies, and annual target outcomes and reach. Its evaluation component must guide the assessment of project performance and impact. Key partners in this process are the SEOW and PFS 2018 subgrantees. Thereafter, subgrant opportunities will be offered for implementation to begin before the fiscal year ends. A team of full-time staff under the GBHWC Prevention and Training Branch will be tasked to oversee and fulfill these proposed grant activities and requirements.
