Lincoln County Preventing ATODS Abuse Drug Free Communities Years 6 through 10 - The Lincoln County Preventing ATODS Abuse Coalition, with Lincoln County serving as legal applicant and fiscal agent, requests Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Year 6 continuation funding to strengthen and sustain a comprehensive, community-based approach to preventing and reducing youth substance use in Lincoln County, Wyoming. Lincoln County is a rural frontier community in southwest Wyoming with approximately 21,180. Long travel distances, limited access to services, an energy-based economy, and local norms that normalize substance use increase risk for youth, while strong family values, school connection, and community pride provide important protective factors. The coalition’s three substances of focus are alcohol, methamphetamine, and tobacco/nicotine. Alcohol remains highly accessible to youth through adult provision, parties, and home settings; in 2024, law enforcement documented 29 alcohol-related incidents involving persons under age 21. Methamphetamine remains a persistent community threat, with 112 methamphetamine-involved arrests reported from 2020–2024, contributing to youth risk through adult use, family instability, trauma exposure, and delayed identification. Tobacco/nicotine remains an early-entry substance for youth; although local data show progress, 16.51% of surveyed students in 2024 still reported some history of vaping. The coalition will implement this work through its established 12-sector structure and INTERACT, its youth coalition of 28 active middle and high school members who meet weekly and help shape prevention messaging, outreach, and implementation. During the 2026–2027 performance period, major strategies include updating the countywide prevention action plan using Communities That Care and the Strategic Prevention Framework; strengthening coalition effectiveness and data use through a Decision Support System and continuous quality improvement process; increasing parent, youth, and community education; expanding family-based prevention and youth leadership; improving referral pathways across schools, the alternative school, diversion, behavioral health, and healthcare; strengthening alcohol- and tobacco/nicotine-related policies and procedures; and expanding Safe Community Event Areas at high-visibility community events. Evidence-based and practice-based strategies include Strengthening Families, Motivational Interviewing, Prime for Life, InDepth, youth-led prevention campaigns, and environmental and systems-change approaches. By the end of Year 6, the coalition will update and begin implementing its countywide prevention action plan; increase coalition organizational effectiveness by 20%; reduce youth alcohol-related incidents from 29 to 24 or fewer; increase from 0 to 4 the number of youth-serving systems that adopt and implement a standardized protocol for identifying and responding to youth affected by family substance use or adult methamphetamine exposure; and increase from a 2025 baseline of 40% to 75% the proportion of youth identified as at risk for tobacco/nicotine initiation or early use who receive documented prevention education, brief intervention, or support referral within 30 days. Progress will be measured through the Wyoming PNA, law enforcement, school, diversion, and partner data, with findings shared through public presentations, newsletters, school and partner meetings, digital communications, and youth-friendly summaries. This continuation project will build on Lincoln County’s demonstrated prevention capacity to deepen systems integration, strengthen rural/frontier implementation, and further reduce youth alcohol, methamphetamine, and tobacco/nicotine risk across the county.
