Morris County Prevention and Resilience Initiative - The Morris County Prevention and Resilience Initiative (MCPRI) project aims to prevent and reduce the initiation and progression of substance use and its related problems among youth under age 21 in Morris County, New Jersey through comprehensive prevention strategies that combine evidence-based youth programming, parent and caregiver education, strategic multimedia messaging, and community capacity building. The MCPRI will serve all residents of Morris County, a geographically and demographically diverse suburban county with more than 524,000 residents, including 20.4% youth under 18. Capacity-building efforts will strengthen prevention infrastructure across schools, youth-serving organizations, coalitions, and community partners to ensure consistent delivery of data-driven, evidence-based prevention services. The primary population of focus is youth under age 21 and their parents and caregivers. Youth who are at elevated risk due to early substance use initiation, justice system involvement, adverse childhood experiences, low perception of harm, and limited parental monitoring will be prioritized. Services will also reach middle and high school students, parents and caregivers, school personnel, and community stakeholders engaged in prevention, intervention, and recovery support systems. Capacity-building strategies will be implemented using the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and informed by Socioecological Model, addressing individual, relationship, community, and societal levels of influence. Key strategies include evidence-based youth prevention programs (Boys Council and Girls Circle); family-based prevention programming enhancements (Strengthening Families Program); implementation of SAMHSA’s Talk. They Hear You.® campaign, through countywide multimedia outlets utilizing billboards, restaurant and grocery store advertisements, digital media, school-based dissemination, and community outreach, and; countywide webinars. Additional capacity-building activities include coalition development and coordination, skills-based training in partnership with the Northeast Prevention Technology Transfer Center, and structured collaboration across partner systems. The goals of the MCPRI are to (1) increase parental awareness, knowledge, and engagement in preventing youth substance use; (2) strengthen youth protective factors by expanding access to evidence-based prevention and social-emotional learning programs. Measurable objectives include a 5% increase in youth reporting strong parental disapproval of substance use, a 5% decrease in youth reporting low perceived risk of alcohol, marijuana, and prescription drug misuse, and a 5% reduction in reported past 30-day substance use. The project will also engage at least 2,000 parents and caregivers annually, reach at least 100,000 residents annually through media campaigns, deliver at least four youth prevention program cycles per year serving a minimum of 80 youth, and conduct at least four annual community webinars addressing emerging substance use trends. Through a coordinated, data-driven, and multi-level prevention approach, the MCYFR Initiative will strengthen Morris County’s prevention infrastructure and promote healthier, substance-free youth development across the community.
