Nearly 1300 Prevention Leaders Take Part in CADCA Mid-Year

They came, they saw, they conquered! That’s what nearly 1300 prevention leaders did last week at CADCA’s 2010 Mid-Year Training Institute in Phoenix, Ariz. Prevention leaders, representing community coalitions from across the country, heard from key federal officials and expert speakers, and learned new strategies and ideas to conquer their local drug abuse problems.

The Mid-Year also included CADCA’s signature youth training, the National Youth Leadership Initiative (NYLI) with some 200 youth traveling to Phoenix for the NYLI.

Judging by the feedback posted on CADCA's Facebook page, youth and adult participants returned to their communities ready to tackle their local substance abuse issues.

“We are back from CADCA Mid-Year Training Institute, and full of new contacts, new energy, and are hitting the ground running,” said the DanversCares Coalition.

“What a great conference you have put on here this week. WaylandCares members, especially our six youth leaders, have soaked up a lot of valuable information and we will be a much more energized group when we return home. Thank you to all,” said a coalition leader from the Wayland Cares Coalition.

“I just got back from the NYLI. It was one of the best things that has ever happened to me…it was absolutely amazing. Thank you for putting it on!” said an NYLI participant.

Opening up the Mid-Year was A. Kathryn Power, Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), who spoke at the opening plenary. Power discussed the increasing role that prevention now plays in the public health model and the role that community coalitions play in preventing disease.

“The era of prevention is upon us,” she told the audience. “We’re moving away from the disease model where we had to wait for people to get sick. Community organizations can help people prevent the development of social and behavioral problems, including substance use disorders.”

Participants also heard from Dr. Lucinda Miner, Deputy Director, Office of Science Policy and Communications, at the National Institute on Drug Abuse; as well as from Pamela Hyde, the new SAMHSA Administrator.

Addressing CADCA’s training for the first time, Hyde offered an overview of SAMHSA’s 10 Strategic Initiatives and discussed what SAMHSA is doing to ensure that substance abuse prevention is part of the conversation on healthcare reform. She noted that the current healthcare reform efforts are changing the landscape of healthcare.

“There is a lot of talk about prevention and we need to, and are trying very hard, to be at that table on our field’s behalf,” Hyde said. “At the moment, there is a lot of focus on physical health; we need to make it also about behavioral health.”

Hyde also thanked coalitions for the work they’re doing in communities. “Our goal is not programs and not services…our mission is really about America’s communities and saving lives,” she said. “I can’t thank CADCA and all of you enough for the important work you do for our country.”

The Mid-Year also featured a variety of special meetings and events, including a DFC Grantee Town Hall Meeting hosted by Jack Claypoole, Administrator of the Drug Free Communities program, and Shannon Weatherly, Policy Analyst for the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). In addition, CADCA debuted a series of drug specific panels, where community leaders and experts dialogued about evidence-based and promising strategies that have been used successfully to impact drug-specific problems and reduce risk factors. There were panel discussions on tobacco, prescription and over-the-counter drugs, and inhalants; as well as one about promising strategies to reduce alcohol use at cultural events such as “quinceañeras” which are common among the Hispanic community.

CADCA also launched its new Rx Abuse Prevention Toolkit: From Awareness to Action, which is also available online. This unique toolkit provides the facts, approaches, strategies and messages that coalitions can use to move communities beyond that first stage of awareness into action. Created through a grant from King Pharmaceuticals, the toolkit is a result of online research, focus groups and one-on-one interviews. All attendees received complimentary copies of the new toolkit.

To view pictures from the CADCA Mid-Year, visit CADCA’s Facebook page. CADCA invites you to post your own pictures from the Mid-Year on CADCA's Facebook or Flickr page.

CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute is the only intensive, coalition-specific training opportunity of its kind, providing in-depth courses specifically designed to address a community leader’s biggest concerns and obstacles.