Wednesday, February 5, 2025
2/5/2025
The Rutgers University Center for Prevention Science (CPS) proposes to continue operation of the Northeast and Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center (NeC PTTC) for HHS Region 2 (R2), which includes New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and multiple federally recognized Tribal Nations. Its mission is to strengthen capacity of the substance misuse prevention workforce through the delivery of multifaceted training and technical assistance (T/TA) designed to increase knowledge and skills grounded in prevention science, health equity, evidence-based and promising programs and practices, and cultural and linguistic responsiveness. The NeC PTTC will provide T/TA to a diverse workforce, distributed across geographic areas with unique and overlapping prevention needs. We will develop webinars to transmit dense, didactic content to a higher number of participants; self-paced, online courses; individualized and intensive TA; and face-to-face participatory events covering key skill building prevention topics. CPS key activities, guided by SAMHSA’s current core principles of equity, trauma-informed approaches, commitment to data and evidence, and recovery, will include the following: 1) conduct annual workforce needs assessments; 2) implement an engagement and communications plan to ensure broad access to resources; 3) disseminate the latest preventions science knowledge, guidance and opportunities related to emerging issues, best practices, behavioral health disparities, and newly published data; 4) develop T/TA services that will guide the prevention workforce in their efforts to reach historically under-resourced communities; 5) develop culturally and linguistically responsive approaches, especially when working with communities in our region whose first language is Spanish; and 6) collaborate with national SAMHSA-funded TA centers and provider leadership to national PTTC Network workgroups. The NeC PTTC proposed two additional efforts to advance the prevention field in R2. First, we will provide tailored T/TA in our specialized prevention subject area which focuses on data-driven models to guide community-level prevention efforts aimed at changing conditions to support healthy living and health equity. This includes use of environmental scanning and geographic information systems to implement data-driven prioritization processes and select culturally and linguistically responsive community and environmental strategies. Second, we propose we will implement the Building Our Leadership and Diversity (BOLD) Prevention Fellowship Program by supporting a full-time Fellow, placed in a prevention organization in R2 annually. The BOLD program, coordinated nationally with multiple regional PTTC’s and the National Coordinating Office, will focus on prevention efforts within historically oppressed and under-resourced communities. Our team is well positioned to serve the diverse needs of the substance misuse prevention workforce, our population of focus, which includes an expansive group of professionals, organizations, and other collaborative partners in the prevention field across R2 including: prevention coalitions; community-based organizations; SAMHSA/other funded prevention grantees; state/jurisdiction/territory-level agencies; public health professionals; epidemiological outcomes workgroups; community-level prevention practitioners; Tribal Nations; credentialed prevention practitioners; LGBTQI+-focused agencies; people who use drugs; people with lived experience; family members; harm reduction specialists; health care agencies; faith-based organizations; social service providers; school personnel; and other related audiences. The NeC PTTC will continue to provide specialized T/TA for prevention professionals that help to increase reach to historically oppressed or under-resourced communities. The NeC PTTC will serve 2,100 unduplicated individuals each year and 10,500 over the lifetime of the five-year grant.
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).