Strategic Prevention Framework Partnerships for Success

Strategic Prevention Framework Partnerships for Success consists of eight funded community coalitions shown in the table below.

These funded coalitions are currently located in the high needs counties of Dallas, Tarrant, Harris, Bexar as well as the border counties of Cameron, Hidalgo and Zapata. Services address underage alcohol use and prescription drug misuse. The coalitions are tasked with:

• Reducing underage drinking and prescription drug misuse and abuse.
• Building infrastructure.
• Meeting match requirements.
• Providing return-on investment analyses for environmental strategies.
• Developing state-level work groups.

The coalitions were developed to mobilize the community to implement evidence-based environmental strategies with a primary focus on changing policies and influencing social norms related to substance use and misuse. 
They use the Strategic Prevention Framework to:

• Determine community needs.
• Build capacity to address those targeted needs through resources such as people, education and funding.
• Develop a plan to address the identified needs, implement the plan and evaluate the outcomes to determine impact.

What Are the Benefits of Services?

These coalitions empower people to make environmental changes within their community that will have a direct impact on reducing substance use and misuse. They use the Strategic Prevention Framework (PDF) as a comprehensive guide to plan, implement and evaluate prevention problems within the community.

The five steps and two guiding principles of the Strategic Prevention Framework offer the organizations and other prevention professionals a comprehensive process for addressing the substance misuse and related behavioral health problems facing their communities. The effectiveness of the framework begins with a clear understanding of community needs and involves community members in all stages of the planning process.

The steps of the Strategic Prevention Framework help the community coalitions to answer important questions throughout the process.

The steps and some of the questions that each step helps to answer are listed below. Click on each step to learn more about how each of the steps are implemented.

• Step 1: Assess Needs: What is the problem and how can I learn more?
• Step 2: Build Capacity: What do I have to work with?
• Step 3: Plan: What should I do and how should I do it?
• Step 4: Implement: How can I put my plan into action?
• Step 5: Evaluate: Is my plan succeeding?

There are two guiding principles that coalitions use throughout the Strategic Prevention Framework:

• Cultural competence: The ability to interact effectively with members of a diverse population.
• Sustainability: The process of achieving and maintaining long-term results.

Why are these guiding principles important? They ensure that everyone in the community affected by the problem has the chance to be part of the solution and, when funding goes away, that the community is committed to continuing the efforts.

(Note: Links to the current coalitions can be found on the Coordinated Training Services website)

Who Can Get Services?

Youth and Young Adults

• Information about preventing underage alcohol use and prescription drug misuse
• Youth-specific trainings (youth leadership development, substance abuse and misuse prevention presentations, and youth advocacy)
• Young-adult-specific trainings (coalition building, leadership development, and presentations related to the state's prevention priorities and focusing on young adults, college students or both)
• Coalition development trainings

Organizations Serving Youth or Young Adults

• Providing community resources for substance abuse prevention

Parents

• Adult-specific trainings (coalition building, social host law presentations and presentations related to any of the state's prevention priorities)

Businesses

• Responsible beverage server training
• Proper ID training
• Storefront placement

Media

• Recognition for in-kind media match

Schools and Education Service Centers

• Substance abuse prevention information (safe prom and graduation, National Prevention Week activities and safe medicine disposal)

Law Enforcement Agencies

• Implementation of various strategies that affect the community (environmental strategies such as local codes, ordinances, regulations and laws)

Social Host

• Tobacco-free parks and zones
• Prescription drug drop boxes and Take Back events

Faith-Based Organizations

• Core Competencies for Clergy and Other Pastoral Ministers: information on how the faith-based community can get involved with prevention of substance abuse use and misuse
• Tobacco-free policy development
• Substance abuse prevention presentations and information

Civic and Volunteer Groups

• Coalition involvement

Health Care Professionals

• Health-care providers' training

State, Local and Tribal Government Agencies with Substance Abuse Expertise

• Establishment of collaborations
• Coordination of trainings

Recovery Community and Local Mental Health Authorities

• Collaboration opportunities

How Do I Get Services?

Coalitions provide services to specific service areas. They are listed on the Texas Community Coalitions website and can be contacted directly. If there isn't a coalition in your area, contact your Prevention Resource Center.