For Immediate Release

September 5, 2024

For more information, contact:
Cara Sloan-Ramos

TOPEKA – Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) Secretary Laura Howard announced today the agency has been awarded a five-year substance use prevention grant totaling $6.25 million ($1.25 million per year from September 30, 2024, through September 29, 2029). The grant funding is part of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Strategic Prevention Framework-Partnerships for Success for States (SPF-PFS-States) program.

“We are extremely excited to be a recipient of this award. KDADS has a strong dedication and vision for continuing to implement prevention success across the state,” KDADS Behavioral Health Services Commissioner Drew Adkins said. “The SPF-PFS grant is a vital resource for partners and coalitions and enhances our ability to assist providers in their mission to prevent substance use in our state. Our team will hit the ground running to distribute these resources quickly to foster safer, healthier communities.”  

Kansas' focus communities will include Finney, Ford, Seward, Grant, Wyandotte, Geary, Reno, and Harvey counties.

This program will provide Kansas the continued opportunity to promote substance use prevention for individuals and families by building and expanding the capacity of local community prevention providers to implement evidence-based programs focused on strengthening state and community-level prevention capacity to identify and address local substance use prevention concerns, including underage drinking and marijuana use/abuse.

The program is a foundational investment in substance use prevention. The goals of the proposed initiative include:

• Increasing perceptions of harm of regular alcohol and marijuana use among youth and young adults ages 12-20 in underserved/underrepresented communities.
• Reducing the onset and progression of alcohol and marijuana use among youth and young adults ages 12-20 in underserved communities.
• Promoting individual and community health and wellness to enhance mental health among youth and young adults ages 12-20 in underserved communities.
• Increasing the prevention infrastructure capacity in underserved communities by utilizing the SPF to implement data-driven substance use/misuse prevention and mental health promotion strategies.

 KDADS will utilize the Strategic Prevention Framework to guide prevention planning efforts. Adherence to the principles in the Framework increases the likelihood that prevention efforts will focus on the substance use problems impacting the community, produce anticipated outcomes, reduce harmful behaviors, and keep communities healthier and safer.

About the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that leads public health efforts to advance the behavioral health of the nation and to improve the lives of individuals living with mental and substance use disorders, and their families.