Preventing alcohol use, marijuana use, and vaping among City of Alexandria youth - Preventing Alcohol, Marijuana, and Vaping Use Among Alexandria Youth: The City of Alexandria, Virginia's Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria (SAPCA) requests Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnerships for Success for Communities and Tribes funding to expand and strengthen local prevention capacity and reduce youth substance use across Alexandria, Virginia. This project will deliver evidence-based prevention programming to at least 3,000 Alexandria youth and reach at least 8,000 adults with prevention messaging over five years, while building the coalition's staffing and coordination infrastructure needed to sustain this work. SAPCA lacks dedicated staff capacity for direct-service prevention delivery, limiting its ability to coordinate across youth-serving partners and monitor program fidelity and outcomes at scale, including in anticipation of emerging substance use trends such as Virginia's planned July 2027 retail cannabis market. The coalition also lacks dedicated capacity to systematically identify youth showing early risk indicators for substance use and connect them to appropriate prevention services, leaving a gap between problem identification and referral for the population most likely to benefit from targeted intervention. This grant will build that capacity through two new dedicated positions and a strengthened coalition infrastructure. The primary population is school-aged children ages 5–19, who comprise 13% of the City's population. The project will deliver direct, fidelity-monitored prevention services to at least 600 middle school and 300 high school students completing Too Good for Drugs – Maximizing Life and at least 2,100 elementary students completing Too Good Out-of-School Time programming. A secondary population of at least 8,000 parents, caregivers, and other adults will be reached through prevention messaging, strengthening protective factors at the interpersonal and family levels of the socioecological model. SAPCA will implement these strategies alongside a community-wide prevention communications strategy and expanded program evaluation capacity. Goal 1: Build capacity – Within 180 days, hire a Data Analyst and Prevention Specialist, establish the SAPCA Board as Project Advisory Committee, and engage state and local partners. By April 30, 2027, complete a community needs assessment and evaluation plan; by July 31, 2027, complete an implementation plan. Goal 2: Prevent and reduce substance use – By 2031, deliver fidelity-monitored prevention services to at least 3,000 youth and reach 8,000 adults with prevention messaging. Increase perceived risk of alcohol use among Alexandria City Public Schools 8th/10th/12th graders from 77% to 80%, marijuana use from 69% to 72%, and vaping from 40–47% to 45–52% (grade-dependent).
