Products and Resources Catalog

  Webinar Description The Social Norms Approach is a prevention strategy that corrects misperceptions of risky behaviors and focuses on the healthy behaviors that already exist in groups. Research shows that most people overestimate risky or unhealthy habits and under-perceive normative healthy behaviors, and that decreasing the over-perception of unhealthy or risky behaviors improves health outcomes.   This session explored the fundamental principles and key concepts behind the social norms approach as well as a process that attendees could use in their own communities to uncover and promote the positive norms that already exist.   Learning objectives for Session 1 included: -Describe the Social Norms Approach -List elements of an effective social norms process -Identify the data needed to build a social norms campaign   Presenter   Lauri Solomon is a training and technical assistance specialist with the Education Development Center.  She has more than 25 years' experience in public health working on a variety of initiatives including the prevention of substance misuse, sexually transmitted infections, and teen pregnancy. Lauri has been providing technical assistance and training on the application of the social norms approach since 1999. She also holds a doctorate in social justice education and works to bring an equity lens to all aspects of her work.   Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint

  Webinar Description The Social Norms Approach is a prevention strategy that corrects misperceptions of risky behaviors and focuses on the healthy behaviors that already exist in groups. Research shows that most people overestimate risky or unhealthy habits and under-perceive normative healthy behaviors, and that decreasing the over-perception of unhealthy or risky behaviors improves health outcomes.   This session explored the fundamental principles and key concepts behind the social norms approach as well as a process that attendees could use in their own communities to uncover and promote the positive norms that already exist.   Learning objectives for Session 2 included: -Describe what are more and less effective approaches to health communication and social marketing -Identify the data needed to build a social norms campaign -List elements of a social norms marketing print ad   Presenter   Lauri Solomon is a training and technical assistance specialist with the Education Development Center.  She has more than 25 years' experience in public health working on a variety of initiatives including the prevention of substance misuse, sexually transmitted infections, and teen pregnancy. Lauri has been providing technical assistance and training on the application of the social norms approach since 1999. She also holds a doctorate in social justice education and works to bring an equity lens to all aspects of her work.   Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint

  This document provides information on xylazine, a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer used as an additive in illicit drug supplies, notably in combination with heroin and fentanyl. It discusses the effects of xylazine use, including sedation and potential risks such as hypotension and bradycardia. The document also emphasizes harm reduction interventions for individuals who may encounter xylazine in the drug supply, including the use of naloxone for responding to overdoses and the importance of wound identification and treatment.

My guest in this episode is Dave Closson, who many of our listeners may know as the previous project director here at region 7 PTTC. As the creator of DJC Solutions he continues his work in the field of prevention, developing people and products that meet the demands of today’s workforce. You can also hear Dave on the regular as the host of Prevention Leaders with Dave Closson. It’s always a pleasure to get a chance to speak with the man who lives by the belief that prevention is better together and together, we are stronger.

My guests in this episode are Isaac Wulff, Sarah Meyers, Mollie Mustoe, and Brisa Sanchez they represent The Statewide Rural Network, a collaborative group of volunteers and leaders across the State of Washington who are building resiliency and safeguarding youth. Collectively, they represent the voices of rural populations across their state. I met these rural preventionist and recorded this podcast during the 2023 NPN conference in Birmingham.

The September 2023 Dialogue contains articles on: Addiction: Nurturing Purpose in Recovery: Unveiling Passions and Living Intentionally | Mental Health: Improving Suicide Prevention Strategies in Maryland | Prevention: Improving Suicide Prevention Strategies in Maryland | ORN: Addressing Regional Needs Additional sections include behavioral health observances, virtual training and webinar events, Region 3 news, and new resources. The Dialogue is designed to inform behavioral and mental health professionals of news and upcoming events in the Central East states. This electronic newsletter is disseminated on the first Tuesday of each month. You are encouraged to provide us with any feedback or submit articles and topics for discussion in future issues of the newsletter.  Sign up to receive the Dialogue in your mailbox. 

RECORDING: Understanding and Implementing Indicated Prevention Strategies   This is the third webinar in the three-part series focused on implementing prevention strategies across the continuum of care. This 90-minute webinar will provide insight and information on how prevention professionals can plan for and implement indicated prevention strategies. Indicated prevention strategies are delivered to populations/groups of individuals who have exhibited high risk behaviors but have not been diagnosed with a substance misuse disorder. It is essential for prevention professionals to understand how to plan for, select, and implement indicated prevention strategies. Indicated prevention strategies can be a part of a comprehensive approach to prevention in your community to help reach desired outcomes.   This is a 3-part webinar series. View the recordings of past sessions using the following links: Recording: Prevention Across the Continuum, August 10, 2023 Recording: Understanding and Implementing Selective Prevention Strategies, August 23, 2023   LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Participants will be able to: Define indicated prevention Explain indicated prevention to existing and potential partners Identify effective indicated prevention strategies that can support their comprehensive approach to prevention Understand the importance of delivering/implementing indicated evidenced-based strategies with fidelity     PRESENTER:  Ashley Bodiford, MPH, MS, CSPS, ICPS Ashley Bodiford, MPH, MS, CSPS, ICPS, is the Director of Prevention at LRADAC in which she develops, implements and maintains effective prevention services for Richland and Lexington counties in South Carolina. In her previous role at LRADAC, she served as the Alcohol Enforcement Team Coordinator in which she developed and implemented evidence-based programs to reduce underage drinking and impaired driving. Mrs. Bodiford has worked in the field of substance use prevention since 2010 and is skilled in universal, selective, and indicated prevention strategies. Mrs. Bodiford has served on the South Carolina Association of Prevention Professionals and Advocates (SCAPPA) board for several years, and served as the organization’s president from 2018-2020. Mrs. Bodiford holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Developmental Psychology, a Master in Public Health and a Master in Human Services.  

The Northeast and Caribbean Summer 2023 Newsletter (English | Spanish) is here. This issue highlights resources for professionals in academic settings and parents, as well as, our upcoming trainings.   

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  Recording: Telling the Story - What do You Know About Underage Drinking in Your State?   Webinar Resource:  Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking   With so many data resources available, how does one know what’s important, useful, and accessible? Participation in this webinar may provide insights into your current interventions, help identify collaborators, and highlight best practices. This webinar will present highlights from the recently published Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking from the federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD). The presenters will share national and state data on the policies, programs, and practices used to prevent and reduce underage drinking specific to the Great Lakes region (HHS Region 5). Presenters will explore the importance of increased collaboration across sectors in the changing landscape around underage drinking. Guidance will be provided on how to use the resources on the ICCPUD website including individual State Performance & Best Practices (SPBP) Reports. PRESENTERS:  Robert M. Vincent, MS.ED Rob Vincent is Associate Administrator for Alcohol Policy at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), where he advises the agency on alcohol policy issues and coordinates alcohol-related prevention and treatment activities. He also chairs the Agency Representatives Committee of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking. Mr. Vincent has worked in the substance misuse field at the local, state, and federal levels since 1988. He has worked in the area of substance misuse prevention, intervention, and treatment for more than 35 years as a nationally certified clinician, and has served as the director for Counseling and Assistance Programs for the U.S. Navy and Public Education. Rob served as the principal investigator of the Olympia Effective Adolescent Grant, and as a consultant specializing in the implementation of school-based prevention and treatment programs for several states. He received his Master of Science in Education Degree from Southern Illinois University. Alicia Sparks, PhD, MPH  Alicia Sparks has more than 10 years of experience at the nexus of policy and behavioral health research—including designing, implementing, and evaluating studies, programs, and policies—with a particular focus on systems-level change to prevent alcohol misuse and related harms. She is the current project director for NIAAA’s Alcohol Policy Information System as well as SAMHSA’s STOP Act to Prevent Underage Drinking Report to Congress. She has led the development of numerous publications intended for broad public dissemination. These include comprehensive guides on various substance use and mental health topics for community coalitions; the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health; and many peer-reviewed manuscripts with accompanying infographics to translate the research into practice.   LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Identify trends in underage drinking in the Great Lakes region. Describe the importance of cross-sector collaboration. List key resources available to support prevention planning. Access and use online resources to inform their underage drinking prevention efforts.   The Great Lakes A/MH/PTTC is offering this training for individuals working in HHS Region 5: IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. This training is being provided in response to a need identified by Region 5 stakeholders. 

The Central East Prevention Technology Transfer Center is excited to announce the 6th episode of our weekly podcast: Walking in Wellness. This series is dedicated to empowering prevention professionals like you with the mindset and skill set necessary to prioritize wellness...every day. This weekly podcast can be accessed via Soundcloud or Spotify. Be sure to follow or subscribe to have episodes delivered weekly!   

Webinar Description This training looked at the importance of Data Informed Decision Making, or DIDM, in strategic prevention planning, and the value of using data within each step of the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) to identify priority needs and achieve prevention goals. During this webinar, presenters defined key data-related terminology, described the benefits of using a data-informed prevention planning process, discussed common challenges and barriers to using data to plan and examined data-informed decision making within each SPF step.   Presenter Emily Bhargava is a Training and Technical Assistance Associate with Education Development Center (EDC). She is skilled in facilitation, data literacy, strategic and sustainability planning, and evaluation design. For over 15 years, she has led community-level health promotion efforts. She is an expert in the prevention of substance abuse, violence, suicide, teen pregnancy, obesity, and HIV, guiding the planning and implementation of culturally and linguistically responsive community-level prevention and health promotion efforts across Massachusetts and the United States.   Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint

Recording: Understanding and Implementing Selective Prevention Strategies   This is the second webinar in the three-part series focused on implementing prevention strategies across the continuum of care. This 90-minute webinar will focus on the selection and implementation of selective prevention strategies. Selective prevention efforts are more targeted than universal strategies and are focused on populations identified as having risk factors that put them at greater risk for developing substance use disorders. In this webinar we will focus on how implementing selective prevention strategies can be a key component of helping you reach your prevention outcomes. It is essential for prevention professionals to understand the components of selective prevention as they work to identify focus populations and matched strategies.   This is a 3-part webinar series. View the session one in the series and register now for the session three using the following links: RECORDING: Prevention Across the Continuum August 10, 2023 Understanding and Implementing Indicated Prevention Strategies, August 31, 2023, 9:30-11:00 AM CT PRESENTER:  Ashley Bodiford, MPS, MS, CSPS, ICPS Ashley Bodiford, MPH, MS, CSPS, ICPS, is the Director of Prevention at LRADAC in which she develops, implements and maintains effective prevention services for Richland and Lexington counties in South Carolina. In her previous role at LRADAC, she served as the Alcohol Enforcement Team Coordinator in which she developed and implemented evidence-based programs to reduce underage drinking and impaired driving. Mrs. Bodiford has worked in the field of substance use prevention since 2010 and is skilled in universal, selective, and indicated prevention strategies. Mrs. Bodiford has served on the South Carolina Association of Prevention Professionals and Advocates (SCAPPA) board for several years, and served as the organization’s president from 2018-2020. Mrs. Bodiford holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Developmental Psychology, a Master in Public Health and a Master in Human Services.

The Central East Prevention Technology Transfer Center is excited to announce the 5th episode of our weekly podcast: Walking in Wellness. This series is dedicated to empowering prevention professionals like you with the mindset and skill set necessary to prioritize wellness...every day. This weekly podcast can be accessed via Soundcloud or Spotify. Be sure to follow or subscribe to have episodes delivered weekly!   

A series providing an exploration of Indigenous prevention methods. The sessions will provide experts to share Indigenous ways of knowing that support strength-based approaches from a cultural context to assist tribal communities in healing. JULY 12 Dr. Jacque Gray, Cherokee and Choctaw descent “Looking at Indigenous Frameworks”. Click HERE to access the event recording. 

Data collection is a critical and ongoing component of prevention, especially when following a data- informed evidence-based process like SAMHSA’ s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) . Data are relevant in some way to every step of the SPF. The COVID-19 Public Health Emergency created many challenges in implementing effective prevention, including data collection. While much of our work in prevention has returned to pre-pandemic approaches, there are some advantages to online data collection methods and it is worth considering when collecting data virtually might better meet data collection needs. This 1.5 hour self-paced online course will provide a general overview of evaluation and best pra ctices for collecting primary data virtually , focusing on both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The course will review online surveys, including surveys with youth and ethical considerations; focus groups and listening sessions; interv iews; and other methods. The course will use case study examples and provide additional resources. Certificate of Completion Available

In this Issue:   *New South Southwest PTTC Prevention Onboarding Roadmap Other PTTC Resources for Onboarding the New Prevention Professional Epi Corner: Using a Multi-faceted Approach to Adolescent Opioid Misuse and Overdose What's Happening Around the Region?

Addressing and preventing the spread of substance use disorders (SUDs) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are both vital areas of public health. Many risk factors are shared across SUD and HIV, though each present unique challenges. This product summarizes the scope of HIV in the United States and SAMHAS Region 3. It also discusses how having HIV can increase risk of substance use and how engaging in substance use can increase risk of HIV. It also shares examples of evidence-based prevention programs.

Connecting Communities to Substance Use Services: Practical Approaches for First Responders - SAMHSA's Behavioral Health Equity Statement

Session 2 – Cultural Intersections: LGBTQ Youth and Substance Use Disorder   Many minority populations are disproportionately affected by substance use disorders and the LGBTQ community is no different. We used data to take a look at how LGBTQ youth and young adults are affected by substance use disorder and reviewed some strategies to combat this issue. Attendees also learned new ways to engage LGBTQ youth and young adults in their work!   Learning Objectives: Better understand why LGBTQ youth are disproportionately affected by substance use disorders.  Learn some new ways that we are trying to reach LGBTQ youth to engage them in prevention and harm reduction related to substance use disorders!  Understand the difference between gender identity, gender expression, sexual identity, and sex assigned at birth and how they are all very separate and important concepts.  Identify three ways that you can show community members, that you may interact with, that you are supportive of diversity – without saying it.   Access the supplemental resources associated with this virtual training opportunity via the download button above.

This product is developed by Cheyenne Chee under the 2022-2023 Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Fellowship Program. This toolkit is designed to provide Native American parents/ guardians with valuable resources and information to prevent cannabis use among youth. By utilizing the PTTC Network and Gray Matters campaign as primary resources, this toolkit aims to empower parents/guardians in promoting healthy choices and supporting their children's well-being. Additional relevant resources are also included to enhance the effectiveness of prevention efforts. 

This product is developed by Morgan Neavill, M.S. under the 2022-2023 Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) 2022-23 Fellowship Program. Are you interested in advocating for the health and wellbeing of Montanans, but not sure where to begin? This toolkit will give you an overview of what it means to advocate on the issue of marijuana, and how to do so effectively. Montana Alliance of Prevention Website

This product is developed by Steve Otero under the 2022-2023 Mountain Plains Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) Fellowship Program.

LGBTQ Affirming Prevention Messaging: Safety, Engagement, Retention, Strategies Randall Leonard, LCSW-C August 16, 2023, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION LGBTQ people, particularly youth, gender diverse folks, and individuals of color, are often labeled both “high-risk” and “hard to reach” populations. Taking the time to understand the medical mistrust dynamics within the community is essential to an embracing welcome. Often, what makes the difference in reaching out to LGBTQ communities with prevention messages is a well-considered, community-designed, targeted campaign featuring high-impact images and culturally-responsive text. This webinar will describe some of the threats that LGBTQ community members may be concerned about in treatment, discuss impactful ways to communicate safety and respect, and give practical examples of prevention messages that have been effective with these populations. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe common experiences of safety and threat for LGBTQ people accessing services. Define signals and dynamics in agency messaging that may impact engagement and retention with LGBTQ clients. Identify at least 3 evidence-based outreach strategies that can be effective with LGBTQ community members PRESENTERS Randall Leonard, LCSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker who has specialized in the care of LGBTQ individuals for four years. They currently serve as a Staff Therapist at the Center for LGBTQ Health Equity, a Center of Excellence of Chase Brexton Health Care, providing individual therapy as well as assessments for gender-affirming surgery. They also facilitate “Identity Talk”, a group for trans and gender-diverse people of color to process intersectionality between culture and gender. Before joining the Chase Brexton team, Randall served survivors of intimate partner violence at Family and Children’s Services, where they provided individual therapy and a weekly support group. In addition, they worked as a Behavioral Specialist in the Emergency Department of Union Memorial Hospital. They started their social work career working with people with severe and persistent mental illness at Sheppard Pratt Health Systems. Randall holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work with a concentration in clinical behavioral health.