Boone County Alliance Comprehensive Addition and Recovery Act (CARA) - The Boone County Alliance (BCA) seeks funding through the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Local Drug Crises Program to prevent and reduce youth opioid, prescription drug, fentanyl, and methamphetamine misuse in Boone County, Kentucky. Although youth substance use rates remain relatively low, the increasing presence of fentanyl in counterfeit pills and the illicit drug supply significantly elevates the risk of overdose and death associated with experimentation. Kentucky Incentives for Prevention (KIP) Survey data indicate ongoing prescription drug misuse among youth and low perceptions of harm, with only 85.3% of Boone County 10th-grade students reporting that taking prescription drugs not prescribed to them poses a moderate or great risk. Community assessments further identify access to prescription medications in the home, mental health challenges, adverse childhood experiences, peer influences, and limited awareness of fentanyl contamination as contributing factors. In 2024, Boone County experienced multiple overdose spikes, including 49 overdoses within a 30-day period, underscoring the continued impact of the opioid crisis. Building on an established coalition infrastructure and strong community partnerships, the Boone County Alliance will engage youth, parents, schools, healthcare providers, behavioral health organizations, public health agencies, law enforcement, businesses, faith-based organizations, and community leaders to implement a comprehensive, data-driven prevention approach grounded in the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and CADCA’s Seven Strategies for Community Change. Project activities will support CARA goals by preventing and reducing youth opioid, prescription drug, fentanyl, and methamphetamine misuse while changing the culture and context regarding the acceptability of youth substance use. The coalition will implement community education campaigns, prevention presentations, youth leadership initiatives, parent and caregiver training, substance-free youth engagement opportunities, medication safety and disposal promotion, coalition capacity-building activities, and policy and environmental strategies designed to reduce youth access to prescription medications. By September 2027, the coalition will increase community awareness of substance use risks, improve prevention-related skills among youth and adults, strengthen youth protective factors, expand awareness and use of permanent medication disposal sites, increase coalition participation from three to at least six active sectors, and support evidence-based prevention policies and practices. Expected outcomes include increased perception of harm associated with prescription drug misuse, stronger community collaboration, improved medication safety practices, reduced youth access to unused prescription medications, expanded prevention capacity, and long-term reductions in youth opioid and prescription drug misuse. Progress will be measured through KIP Survey data, coalition performance measures, participant evaluations, coalition capacity assessments, and community indicators, ensuring continuous quality improvement and sustainable community-level impact.
