The Virginia Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (VOSAP), operating as the VOSAP Collaborative, is pleased to report on substance abuse prevention efforts in the Commonwealth of Virginia. VOSAP representation spans four Secretariats including: Education, Health and Human Resources, Public Safety and Homeland Security, and Transportation. External to state government, VOSAP partners with community coalitions and other organizations that promote health, safety and wellness.

The VOSAP Collaborative promotes and supports data-driven prevention planning, evidence-based prevention programming, capacity development, and formal data-driven evaluation. The VOSAP Collaborative serves as the Advisory Committee for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Partnership for Success Grant administered through Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services’ (DBHDS) Office of Behavioral Health Wellness.

During meetings of the VOSAP Collaborative, agency representatives reported on individual and joint projects related to prevention, and identified ways to further support their shared mission to promote health and safety in the Commonwealth. In 2017, particular attention was paid to: the findings of the Virginia State Epidemiological Workgroup, promoting SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework model, demonstrating prevention outcomes, the shift to environmental strategies, impacts of adverse childhood experiences and health disparities, demonstrating the value of prevention through both tangible outcomes and “storytelling," and the intersection of prevention and recovery. Office of the Secretary of Health & Human Resources Policy Advisor Jodi Manz, MSW participates at Collaborative meetings to provide a direct link to the Governor’s Task Force on Prescription Drug and Heroin Abuse.