Friday, June 13, 2025
6/13/2025
Urban Partnership of Miami-Dade County Coalition - The Urban Partnership of Miami-Dade County Coalition (UPMDCC) came into existence in 2010 to establish collaborations among residents of the adjacent Miami-Dade County, FL jurisdictions of Brownsville/Model City/Liberty City, community-based public and private non-profit agencies located in or serving the targeted community, and local governments in support of efforts geared toward building stronger families and drug free communities leading to better youth well-being outcomes in the 21st Century. Today, the Coalition has a 10-year history of successful adolescent substance abuse prevention with active participation from 12 sector representatives working toward a common mission to eliminate disparities for children and families by fostering child wellbeing, academic success, healthy choices and community safety. Brownsville/Model City/Liberty City is a highly at-risk jurisdiction as defined by rates and case of social, economic and environmental indicators; 72.7% Black, 23.6% White, 27.6% Hispanic. Approximately 4,290 children live in the densely populated urban community of predominantly female head of households. The assessed violent crime rate on a scale from 1 (low crime) to 100, is 96; the U.S. average is 41.4. The UPMDCC’s Youth Wellness Survey administered to 788 students in 2016 (Grades 5/9/10/11) cites favorable attitudes toward substance use, including youth perception of risk, use, and community norms. Local schools report low achievement; of the population age 25 and older, 29.8% do not have a high school education, 42.2% high school diploma only, and a mere 4.2% and 6.9% respectively have an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree. In response to the public health problems associated with youth substance use in Brownsville/ Model City/Liberty City, the UPMDCC requests funding continuation of its environmental, community mobilization approach using the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) model to achieve long-range goals. Building upon its history in contributing to Drug-Free Community (DFC) evaluations since 2015, the UPMDCC will continue to reduce youth substance use by: 1) Assessing community needs based on epidemiological data, primarily through its biennial UPMDCC Youth Wellness Survey, which includes a Parent Survey; 2) Mobilizing efforts amongst its 12-sector representatives, with a goal of increasing sector representation (community influencers) and engagement particularly among youth as a driver in advocating for community-level change (add 5 new members and 5 school-based youth groups by 9/30/21, 20 new members by 9/30/25 – train with placement in subcommittees); 3) Augmenting prevention capacity at the local level by changing the physical design of community programs to using prevention science methods, and fostering collaboration in addressing youth risk and protector factors (9/30/21); 4) Increasing awareness at the community/neighborhood level (i.e., focus groups, Communications Campaign, etc.) and advocacy at the local/state level for public and institutional policies that address assessed community needs (9/30/25); 5) Evaluating the impact of the SPF and its implemented programs, policies and practices on reducing youth substance use (2% improvement in DFC youth core measures by 9/30/25), concentrating on decreasing perception of availability of alcohol by 5% and increasing perception of harm of marijuana use in Grades 6-12, and increasing adult disapproval; and 6) Achieving and maintaining long-term results, with an eye on sustainability following the completion of the 10-year DFC Coalition funding cap.
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).