Saturday, December 21, 2024
12/21/2024
Portland Public Schools (PPS) is the largest district in Oregon, serving over 44,000 students in 81 schools in the urban core of Multnomah County. A number of factors, unique to Oregon and specifically to Portland, have caused substantial changes to and increases in substance use in the region. The Portland Public Schools Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data shows that our students continue to struggle with substances and by far the most prevalent are the substances that are legal and easily accessible. The use of nicotine products increases throughout the time that students are enrolled in high school and is at nearly 20% by the time students are seniors. Additionally, nearly a third (27%) of our students are currently using marijuana, over a third are using alcohol (33%). The YRBS also shows that these behaviors disproportionately impact Latinx students and students who identify as LBGTQ2SAI+. These use patterns are evident in the YRBS and the Oregon Healthy Teen Survey, where data indicates: 33% of our students are being offered, sold or given substances at school. In Multnomah County over 30% of 11th graders had drank alcohol in the last 30 days and over 25% had used a cannabis product. 10% of 8th graders have consumed alcohol in the last 30 days and nearly 10% have used a cannabis product. Portland Public Schools proposes a Drug-Free Communities NEW Coalition project, the Healthy, Substance-Free Youth Coalition, whose mission is: Connect, collaborate and innovate to prevent youth substance use and empower youth to lead healthy, drug-free lives. This coalition builds on the work of a group called the Youth Provider Network (YPN) and the Multnomah County Big Village Coalition (with DFC funding sunsetting in 2024) that, in recent years, have wrestled with the alarming lack of substance use treatment resources in the Portland and in the state. The proposed DFC NEW Coalition will prioritize primary ‘upstream’ strategies that aim to prevent youth substance use, with a focus on historically underserved populations. The proposed Healthy Substance-Free Youth Coalition is a smaller, more focused group that is leveraging existing collaborations, relationships with community leaders and key partnerships to increase prevention activities overall in the service of our focus population, students in grades 6 through 12 in Portland Public Schools (24,000+ students). The Coalition will utilize DFC’s Seven Strategies and: --Sharpen the focus on youth substance use prevention. --Enhance protective factors for students against substance use and delay the onset of use. --Increase parent/caregiver knowledge and skills around substance use. --Focus on serving populations most impacted by substance use in our district, specifically LBGTQ2SAI+ and Latinx students. PPS has assembled and united a strong multi-sector coalition to tackle the serious problem of youth substance use and PPS meets all the eligibility requirements for funding.
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).