Cape Assist's Strategic Prevention Framework - Partnerships for Success: Cape May Prevention Partnership - Cape Assist proposes the Cape May Prevention Partnership, a countywide Strategic Prevention Framework–Partnerships for Success initiative designed to strengthen prevention infrastructure and reduce alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine/vaping use among youth and emerging adults in Cape May County, New Jersey. Serving a year-round population of 93,390 that swells to nearly 800,000 seasonally, the project responds to documented increases in youth substance use, declining perception of harm, and persistent treatment admissions by prioritizing prevention resources in under-resourced communities where socioeconomic disparities, housing instability, and transportation barriers limit access to protective factors and prevention services. The population of focus includes youth ages 14–18 and emerging adults ages 18–34, with priority given to communities disproportionately affected by poverty, seasonal employment, housing instability, and limited access to prevention resources. Direct services will be delivered through evidence-based school prevention programming, Youth Resiliency Teams, Adult and Teen Mental Health First Aid, and community prevention education. Key strategies include strengthening local data systems through countywide needs assessment, expanding prevention workforce capacity through training in evidence-based training and certification, providing technical assistance to community partners, and enhancing cross-sector collaboration through the Healthy Community Coalition, a newly formed Community Data Review Team, and Youth Advisory Council. The project will strengthen countywide assessment and surveillance systems, build sustainable community prevention capacity, and implement coordinated evidence-based prevention strategies that reduce risk factors and strengthen protective factors among youth and emerging adults. The project will focus on three interrelated goals: (1) strengthening assessment and local data systems; (2) building prevention capacity through training, technical assistance, and cross-sector coordination; and (3) preventing and reducing the initiation and progression of substance use through evidence-based prevention messaging and strategies. Measurable objectives include administering biennial youth surveys to at least 1,200 students and collecting a minimum of 500 Emerging Adult Survey responses to strengthen local surveillance; training at least 250 professionals and providing technical assistance to 100 organizations to build sustainable prevention capacity; and engaging at least 300 youth annually through Youth Resiliency Teams while expanding Adult and Teen Mental Health First Aid to strengthen protective factors and improve behavioral health outcomes. The proposed project advances SAMHSA's strategic priorities by strengthening data-driven prevention, expanding sustainable community prevention capacity, and improving behavioral health outcomes through coordinated, evidence-based, cross-sector partnerships.
