The 2024 Louisiana Partnerships for Success III (LaPFS III) proposes to address significant challenges many Louisianans ages 12-25 face regarding substance misuse within racially, culturally, and economically diverse populations. The goals of the LaPFS III will reflect the national goals for the Partnerships for Success (PFS) program to include: (1) prevent the onset and reduce the progression of underage drinking and polysubstance use; (2) To reduce short-term and long-term consequences of underage drinking and polysubstance use; (3)To eliminate disparities in underage drinking and polysubstance use; (4) To strengthen and sustain the capacity of the prevention data management and systems infrastructure at the state and community levels; and (5) increase knowledge about polysubstance use and mental health services to improve community attitudes about utilizing mental health resources.
LaPFS III will target five underserved communities across the State in identified regions that presented higher rates compared to the state in underage drinking and polysubstance use. Louisiana will establish a state/community prevention collaborative to implement the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) at the State and community levels which will allow stakeholders to assess problems, plan and implement strategies, and evaluate solutions to address underage drinking and polysubstance use while promoting mental health services and resources. The State/community collaborative will utilize the SPF to make informed data-driven decisions to develop, implement, and evaluate effective prevention strategies. To promote the efficiency and sustainability of LaPFS III, prevention resources will be redirected to the State and identified communities to support the work on each goal mentioned above. The long-term expectations are that LaPFS III State and community activities will reduce underage drinking and polysubstance use while promoting mental health treatment services, holistic well-being, and utilization of crisis coping resources. Over time, this will lead to these underserved communities observing tangible changes within their communities.