New Tools to Strengthen K-12 Substance Misuse Prevention Programming / Technical Assistance Opportunity

The State Education Resource Center (SERC) is offering a two-year opportunity for Districts/Schools to implement an action plan for Opioid and Substance Misuse Prevention. SERC’s coaching and Technical Assistance (TA) will support the districts’ process of developing and implementing their plan using the Prevention Guiding Curriculum and Tools.

Please note the deadline to submit an application has been extended to 4:00 p.m. Friday, August 13, 2021, to allow applicants additional time. Applicants should plan to take the Substance Misuse Prevention Planning Online Course before the provision of Technical Assistance begins. For more information on the Online Course, see below.

Selected district applicants will be eligible for a stipend of $9,000.00 in year one and $2,500.00 in year two, to support implementation of action-planning and associated costs.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Paquita Jarman-Smith at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

Background
This opportunity is aligned with the following priorities (see page 2 of Connecticut's American Rescue Plan Act, Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Guidance):

  • Family and Community Connections: The complex issues brought about by the pandemic have made it clear that the success of schools, families, and communities are interdependent and all have a stake in students’ well-being. Investing in mutually beneficial school-family-community partnerships will not only support students to achieve their full potential, but it will also strengthen families and stabilize communities.

  • Social, Emotional, and Mental Health of the Students and of our School Staff: The school community experience during the pandemic has been one of collective challenge and trauma. We must be prepared to use strategic wraparound social, emotional, and mental health supports to restore and successfully re-engage our school communities.

This opportunity also aligns with the Accelerate CT Framework, a bold, redesigned educational response to learning outlined in AccelerateCT (https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/COVID19/AccelerateCT) that will promote renewal, reduce opportunity gaps, accelerate learning, and advance equity to allow for the most effective response to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past two years, the Education Development Center has been working with SERC to develop a set of tools that districts across the state can use to assess their current substance misuse prevention programming and inform the selection of new programs, practices, and strategies. This opportunity is available under a collaborative grant between SERC and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS).


State Opioid Response (SOR II)
A Transforming Approach to Opioid Prevention:
Developing Systemic Change in Schools
District - Invitation to Apply for Technical Assistance

SOR II GRANT OVERVIEW-

The State of Connecticut, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) was awarded the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 2021 State Opioid Response (SOR) grant. This grant “aims to address the opioid crisis by increasing access to medication-assisted treatment using the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder, reducing unmet treatment need, and reducing opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment and recovery activities for opioid use disorders (OUD).” The CT SOR initiatives are intended to supplement current activities pertaining to opioid misuse undertaken by DMHAS through its previously awarded SAMHSA State Targeted Response (STR) grant as well as utilize recommendations from the CT Opioid Response (CORE) Plan, the CT Alcohol and Drug Policy (ADPC), and feedback from a number of consumers, providers and other stakeholders. One such recommendation is bringing awareness of the dangers of opioid use directly into the classroom for students in grades K-12. This grant is a collaborative effort between DMHAS and the State Education Resource Center (SERC).

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE OVERVIEW

The State Education Resource Center is offering a two-year opportunity for Districts/Schools to implement an action plan for Opioid and Substance Misuse Prevention. Coaching and Technical Assistance (TA) will be offered to support implementation of an action plan using the Guiding Curriculum and Tools as a follow-up to completion of the Online Course (Universal Opioid and Other Substance Misuse Prevention Planning: Resources for K-12 Educators and Planners).
Selected districts will be eligible for a stipend of $9,000.00 in year one and $2,500.00 year two, to support implementation of action-planning and associated costs.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

NEW! Substance Misuse Prevention Online Course

Managing school days during the pandemic has focused on putting out fires. Yet the United States and Connecticut continue to face an opioid epidemic as well, and K-12 schools are uniquely positioned to help reduce and prevent opioid and substance misuse among the students in their care. So how do we ensure the time and resources during this chaotic time to work on prevention?

Over the past 2 years, the Education Development Center has been working with SERC to develop a set of tools that districts across the state can use to assess their current substance misuse prevention programming and inform the selection of new programs, practices, and strategies. SERC, in collaboration with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), will offer a virtual learning opportunity on implementing these tools that includes an orientation, a self-paced online course, and an application for optional coaching to facilitate implementation.

Under the State Opioid Response Grant (SOR), SERC and DMHAS developed the document “Universal Opioid and Other Substance Misuse Prevention Planning in Schools: Guidance for Connecticut K-12 Educators and Their Prevention Partners.” They are creating a rubric to score districts on their readiness to implement the guidance and will select two districts in June to do a deeper dive.

The combined guidance document, self-assessment tool, and synthesis of prevention programs will support schools in meeting 2019 legislation requiring school districts to provide “instruction related to opioid use and related disorders” under Connecticut’s existing substance use prevention curriculum requirement.

This prevention guidance document describes effective universal opioid and other substance misuse prevention in schools, accompanied by a practical tool for assessing current school-based prevention programs and practices. Together, these two resources are designed to help Connecticut educators and their prevention partners understand best practices in K-12 universal substance misuse prevention and critically examine—with an eye toward improving—their schools’ existing universal efforts to prevent opioid and other substance misuse among the students they serve.

The self- paced online course will provide participants an opportunity to review and complete the prevention guidance document in addition to the collection of user-friendly tools that offers Connecticut administrators and educators a roadmap for strengthening their school-based substance misuse prevention programming.

Register for Online Course, Universal Opioid Misuse Prevention Planning in Schools

 

For any questions regarding the technical assistance opportunity or online course, please contact SERC Consultant Paquita Jarman-Smith, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..