Vermont Business Magazine Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) joined Governor Peter Shumlin (D) at the State House Monday to announce a $12.4 million federal grant intended to reduce prescription drug abuse, marijuana use and underage drinking among youths and young adults throughout Vermont. The five-year substance abuse prevention grant, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will support statewide expansion of Vermont’s Regional Prevention Partnerships program. That program is now operating in six counties and is made possible by an earlier $3.6 million federal grant, which expires this year.
Leahy and Shumlin said the new grant will allow the Vermont Department of Health to provide comprehensive prevention services at the regional level across the state and in every county, to youths and young adults of the ages of 12 to 25.
Regional Prevention Partnership Grantees
Funding for 6 current partnerships/
Health Dept. districts:
• Washington County Youth Services Bureau/Boys & Girls Club
Barre District Office
• Youth Services, Inc.
Brattleboro District Office
• Chittenden County Regional Planning
Commission/Burlington District Office
• Lamoille County Family Center
Morrisville District Office
• Rutland Community Programs
Rutland District Office
• Mt. Ascutney Hospital
White River Junction District Office
Funding for 6 new partnerships/ Health Dept. districts: Newport, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, Middlebury, Springfield, Bennington
Examples of Current Partnerships for Success Work –
Washington County Youth Services Bureau/Boys & Girls Club leads the Washington County regional partnership. As a result, the partnership:
• Collaborated with the local substance abuse prevention coalitions Community Connections and Central Vermont New Directions, local schools and the Montpelier Parent Group to offer the parenting program Guiding Good Choices.
• Presented information on policy approaches for restricting alcohol in public places to select boards in Middlesex, Montpelier, East Montpelier, Calais, Worcester and Berlin, and developed a policy resource guide: Education for Cities and Towns on Substance Abuse Prevention.
• Worked with local law enforcement to conduct both Sobriety Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols, stopping 800+ vehicles. Law enforcement partners said that this visible presence made an impact on motorists, keeping the roads safe during this time.
• Provided leadership for follow-up forums to the Governor’s Forum in 2014 and participated on the steering committee that has been formed to continue the focus on opiate addiction in the region.
• As part of their peer leadership focus, partnered with the In Your Face Gorilla Theatre Company to raise the voice of youth as it relates to their experiences with high-risk drinking and prescription drug misuse. The theatre work with youth provides a dynamic and interactive approach to engaging the community in dialogue and action regarding alcohol and prescription drug use and misuse.
Lamoille Family Center serves as the lead agency for the current and newly awarded Regional Prevention Partnership grant. The Lamoille Family Center partners with the Lamoille County Regional Planning Commission to:
• Deliver education on policy approaches to restrict alcohol in public places and events
• Provide an online education program on alcohol for freshman at Johnson State College
• Offer an electronic alcohol screening program for the community through worksites
• Conduct a parenting program called Nurturing Fathers through the Family Center
• Develop the Lamoille Opiate Summit to follow up the Governor’s Opiate Forum in 2014
The Health Department district office in Morrisville provides leadership to the regional grant with the following active partners: Johnson State College, Sterling College, law enforcement, Lamoille Prevention Campaign, Lamoille County Planning Commission, Blueprint for Health, Lamoille County Court Diversion, Department of Liquor Control, Lamoille Family Center, and local news media outlets.
Leahy said: “The strength of this approach is that it involves many community and regional partners, from hospitals and schools, to Boys and Girls Clubs and planning commissions. This will be a comprehensive, strategic and statewide approach to breaking the cycle of drug and alcohol addiction before it starts. We know we need to reach young people at earlier ages than ever before, and this grant will go a long way toward making that possible. We also know that it is far less expensive, and far more productive, to prevent substance abuse on the front end, rather than having to deal with its life-altering consequences on the back end.”
Leahy, then-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, held a March 2014 Judiciary Committee field hearing in Vermont focusing on community-wide approaches to countering opioid trends. He is the most senior member of the Appropriations Committee, which writes the annual funding bill for HHS.
Senator Leahy and Governor Shumlin courtesy governor's Twitter feed.
Shumlin said: "Opiate addiction is the most serious challenge facing our state. We've made progress expanding treatment, saving lives through the distribution of overdose reversal kits, and changing the way we think about addiction. But we all know that the best way to tackle issues of addiction is to prevent people from getting addicted in the first place. This grant will help us bolster our efforts to do that, and I want to thank Senator Leahy for his hard work to ensure this critical funding need is met."
Health Commissioner Harry Chen, MD, said: "We¹ve already seen some success in reducing high-risk drinking, marijuana use and opioid drug misuse among young Vermonters as a result of our collective efforts. This new commitment of federal dollars allows us to apply what we’ve learned through the partnerships to every corner of the state."
The new grant will expand the Regional Prevention Partnerships to include Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Essex/Orleans, Franklin, and Windsor Counties.
A fact sheet on the Regional Prevention Partnerships Grant program from the Vermont Department of Health can be found here.
MONTPELIER, Vt. (MONDAY, July 6, 2015) – Senator Patrick Leahy