Alaska Statewide Strategic Prevention Framework: Building Community Capacity to Prevent Youth and Young Adult Substance Misuse - The Alaska Department of Health, Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention, will implement a five-year statewide initiative to strengthen prevention infrastructure and expand community capacity to prevent alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and vaping, and other substance use among Alaska youth and young adults. The project will prioritize rural, remote, economically disadvantaged, and other underserved communities identified through a data-driven needs assessment. Geographic Area and Capacity Need. The initial catchment area is the entire State of Alaska. Assessment findings will identify priority regions and communities with elevated substance use risks, limited prevention services, workforce shortages, insufficient out-of-school programming, and barriers related to geography, transportation, cost, and internet access. Capacity development will strengthen local organizations’ readiness to plan, implement, evaluate, finance, and sustain evidence-based and evidence-informed prevention services. Population of Focus and Population Served. The population of focus is youth ages 10–17 and young adults ages 18–25. Direct prevention activities will prioritize youth and young adults with limited access to prevention resources or elevated risk factors, including adverse childhood experiences, behavioral health needs, weak community connectedness, child welfare or juvenile justice involvement, and early alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, vaping, or other substance use. Strategies and Interventions. Using SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework, the project will conduct needs and community-readiness assessments; provide competitive subawards and individualized technical assistance; expand sustainable out-of-school prevention programs; strengthen workforce, fiscal, evaluation, and data capacity; engage youth in planning; engage partners in the statewide Shared Risk and Protective Factor Community of Practice; expand the Next Move campaign that provides mental health and substance use treatment resources to young adults aged 18-25 years; connect providers with PTTC and SPTAC resources; and implement a prevention data platform for reporting and continuous quality improvement. Project Goals. The project will: (1) increase community readiness and prevention capacity; (2) reduce initiation and use of alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and vaping, and other substances among youth; (3) strengthen state and community prevention data systems; and (4) reduce substance use among young adults through targeted prevention messaging and connections to resources. Measurable Objectives. By the end of Year 1, Alaska will complete a statewide needs assessment and identify priority regions. The project will award at least four community prevention grants annually; ensure 100% of funded communities develop data-informed action plans by Year 2; increase youth participation in evidence-based or evidence-informed prevention programs by at least 20% over baseline; achieve implementation fidelity among at least 80% of funded programs by Year 3; achieve at least a 95% on-time data-reporting rate; and increase Next Move campaign reach and engagement among young adults by at least 25% over baseline. These objectives advance SAMHSA priorities for prevention, evidence-based practice, partnership, timely data use, accountability, and response to emerging behavioral health threats.
