RD36 - Annual Report of the Governor's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention


Executive Summary:
Collaboration has resulted in an impressive array of prevention achievements in the past year. The Governor's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (GOSAP) has provided leadership and coordination, consistent with its statutory charge, to establish a strong prevention infrastructure at the state level and to build consensus among prevention professionals throughout the state around a strategic plan for prevention that will guide substance abuse prevention efforts in the years to come. Major achievements include the following:

• Virginia’s plan for substance abuse prevention was developed and is set forth in the document "Gaining Traction: A Substance Abuse Prevention Plan for Virginia’s Youth."

• KIDsafe Virginia, Governor Warner’s child personal safety and public awareness initiative, has touched hundreds of thousands in schools, communities and homes during its first year of implementation. KIDsafe Virginia is designed to keep kids safe through education, communication and coordination.

• The first statewide KIDsafe Virginia Prevention Conference, held in November 2003, was attended by more than 250 prevention leaders from throughout Virginia.

• Protect & Respect, an initiative designed to strengthen the public safety of Virginia’s senior citizens, was launched. Protect & Respect uses intergenerational projects and research-based crime prevention education to improve the safety and well-being of both seniors and youth. Sixteen grants were awarded to support intergenerational projects in 25 Virginia communities.

• Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act grants were awarded to 22 projects to support science-based youth substance abuse and violence prevention efforts and/or needs assessments in 32 Virginia communities.

• Virginia’s State Incentive Grant initiative continued to support the efforts of twenty prevention coalitions, to support a capacity-building initiative, and to coordinate an Advisory Council that contributed to the development of Virginia’s substance abuse prevention plan.

• The involvement of youth in substance abuse prevention and public safety in Virginia has been increased through the Youth Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Project (YADAPP) and the Governor’s Youth Public Safety Advisory Council (GYPSAC).

Each of the prevention achievements listed above are described in more detail within this report.

The Governor's Office for Substance Abuse Prevention will provide leadership and coordination in the collaborative implementation of the numerous short- and long-term recommendations set forth in "Gaining Traction: A Substance Abuse Prevention Plan for Virginia's Youth." Having established the foundation for a strong prevention infrastructure at the state and local levels, the GOSAP looks forward in the coming years to collaborating with Virginia's prevention leaders to move prevention forward in a more unified, more collaborative and more proven way.