New Report Sheds Light on State and Coalition Relationship

Thirty-three states promote community coalitions as a key vehicle for reducing substance abuse in their states. That´s according to CADCA´s State Survey on Coalitions, the first ever national survey on the relationship between states and community coalitions. CADCA´s survey, which was endorsed by the National Association of State Alcohol/Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD), aimed to provide a better understanding of how community coalitions fit into statewide prevention plans and training models, as well as state perspectives of coalition issues and needs. Click here to see highlights of CADCA´s State Survey on Coalitions. The complete report will be released next month.

“This is an important step in our efforts to determine how different states view and work with community anti-drug coalitions,” explained Jane Callahan, Director of CADCA’s National Coalition Institute. “Thanks to this comprehensive review, we now know that while some states already do an outstanding job of supporting coalitions, some states are just beginning to support coalitions and in other states coalitions are not on the radar screens yet.”

The survey was conducted through telephone interviews with state National Prevention Network (NPN) representatives in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

CADCA’s survey found that 29 states have a clear plan in place that support the development of community coalitions as a means for reducing substance abuse. Their plans include training, technical assistance and funding. Eleven states had some type of informal plan in place to support coalitions and another 11 states had either no plan or did not indicate whether they did or didn’t.

Many of the states acknowledged the important role that coalitions play in drug prevention efforts. “There is no way to change the environment one program at a time; it has to be done through coalitions,” noted Rebecca Matusovich, Prevention Team Manager of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse.

The survey also helped paint a picture about funding for coalitions, showing that 47 states provide funds to support coalitions. Funds are allocated through a variety of funding streams. For example, 33 states designate block grant funds for coalition support; 10 states use state funds, including levies, fines or tax revenue; nine states use State Incentive Grant (SIG) funds; seven states use SPF SIG funds; and five states use funds from the Governor’s portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities program.

While funding mechanisms may differ for most states and communities, the survey showed that the majority of coalitions face similar concerns and challenges. For example, 25 states identified sustainability and funding as the main concern facing coalitions in their states; 16 states identified coalition infrastructure and staffing as their top concern and 15 states identified mobilizing the entire community as their toughest challenge.

The survey also sought to find out how coalitions could best support state prevention efforts. Some 22 states said coalitions should advocate for prevention funding and for environmental change; 20 percent coalitions should actively participate in the SPF SIG process and provide input for planning efforts and 14 percent said coalitions can be most helpful by mobilizing and engaging the community and by providing a link between the community and the state.