Portsmouth Herald - Federal Funds Released to Address Youth Drug Prevention

News Article

By Karen Dandurant

The need to address the current opioid crisis is understood by local and federal legislators and they are working hard to find solutions. What is also understood is the need for education, to protect the next generation. Federal money will be released to help fund current programs and to establish new educational efforts.

U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte announced last week the release of $53 million in additional funds - including some appropriated under the end-of-year government spending bill - to fund programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Last year, Ayotte urged Senate appropriators to include increased resources in the government spending bill to combat the opioid abuse epidemic.

"On top of last week's funding to monitor overdoses and deaths from the heroin crisis, today's announcement is welcome news signifying that the administration is starting to release funding we allocated at the end of the year to fight this epidemic," Ayotte said. "In particular, I'm very glad to see that New Hampshire will receive additional funding for medication-assisted treatment, which is an important way of helping individuals struggling with substance use disorders. I will continue to advocate for more funding to fight this epidemic through programs like these and those we established under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act."

Ayotte has urged, and voted in support of, increases in funding through the regular appropriations process for the evidence-based initiatives called for under the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. She also supported other emergency and supplemental funding for opioid programs, such as a measure from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) that would add $600 million additional emergency funding on top of the normal appropriations process.

"Ensuring that both children and their families are properly educated about the dangers of substance abuse is a critical component of ending the opioid abuse epidemic currently facing New Hampshire and much of the nation," Ayotte said. "That is why I worked hard to ensure that the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act became law, and that the final version of CARA includes additional support for prevention, education, and awareness efforts - key components of the comprehensive approach necessary to effectively combat this crisis."

In January 2016, Ayotte sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia M. Burwell encouraging her to release the opioid abuse funding that was allocated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-113). Previously, in April 2015, Ayotte co-led a bipartisan letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee expressing strong support for funding programs that would address the opioid abuse crisis in a comprehensive manner. In part due to her advocacy, the end-of-year spending legislation included a 284 percent increase in funding for programs at the CDC and SAMHSA to fight the heroin and prescription opioid abuse crisis.

Also last week, Ayotte issued the following statement welcoming the announcement from the Office of National Drug Control Policy that nearly 700 drug-free community support programs would receive $85.9 million in grants to support efforts to prevent youth substance use through education and community-based programs. New Hampshire will receive nearly $1.5 million in grants.

"I welcome the announcement from the ONDCP, and I am glad that New Hampshire will receive funding to support local efforts to increase awareness about the dangers of substance use," Ayotte said. "Education and prevention are key components of fighting New Hampshire's drug crisis, and are a part of the comprehensive approach set forth in the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. If we can teach our children early on the dangers of substance use - including heroin and fentanyl - then we can make real change at the local level and continue working to save lives."

Ayotte has been a consistent supporter of DFC funding and has pushed for greater resources for community-based efforts to address New Hampshire's opioid abuse crisis. Ayotte helped introduce the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which was signed into law in July 2016 and allows organizations that have received DFC grants to be eligible to receive additional funding to implement comprehensive community-wide strategies. CARA also calls on the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement a public education and prevention campaign to further encourage community efforts to raise awareness on the dangers of heroin and fentanyl.

At the beginning of August, Ayotte visited Rochester to talk to police officers who were beginning training on a new anti-drug education program, Law Enforcement Against Drugs. L.E.A.D. will be introduced to Rochester schools this year and focuses on preventive education.

In a letter to Ayotte, Michael Botticelli, director of the drug-free communities support program, said he was pleased to share the fiscal year 2016 drug-free communities (DFC) support program new and/or continuation awards in New Hampshire.

The DFC program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy with program support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The fiscal year 2016 awards part of a cohort of 92 new and 585 continuation grantees across the nation.

"With the premise that local problems need local solutions, the DFC program is designed to support communities as they mobilize individuals and organizations to reduce youth substance use," Botticelli said. "Over time, DFC-funded community coalitions have shown significant declines in prevalence of past 30-day youth substance use. In light of data from the national survey on drug use and health indicating that levels of substance use among youth remain elevated, continued support for the DFC program is critical."

For fiscal year 2016, the new DFC awards represent a total federal investment of $11.5 million in grants. Continuation grants represent a total federal investment of $72.8 million. Included in these fiscal year 2016 awards are three new DFC mentoring grants totaling $225,000 and 18 DFC mentoring continuation grants totaling $1.3 million. Mentoring grants are awarded to existing DFC coalitions to assist new coalitions build the capacity necessary to apply for DFC funding on their own in the future. The DFC support program is a matching federal grant where each community provides a minimum of one-to-one match in local funds for each federal dollar awarded.

The grants to New Hampshire groups are as follows:

The Haverhill Area Substance Misuse Prevention Coalition, grant amount: $125,000.

Merrimack Safeguard, grant amount: $125,000.

Raymond Coalition for Youth, grant amount: $125,000.

Southern Rockingham Coalition of Youth Prevention of Marijuana and Prescription Drug Abuse Project, grant amount: $125,000.

Somersworth Prevention Coalition, grant amount: $125,000.

Bridging the Gaps, Rochester Community Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Prevention, grant amount: $125,000.

Franklin Mayor's Drug and Alcohol Abuse Task Force, grant amount: $125,000.

Monadnock Alcohol and Drug Abuse Coalition, grant amount: $125,000.

Nashua Prevention Coalition, grant amount: $125,000.

All Together, Inc. of Lebanon, grant amount: $125,000.

Winchester We've Got Your Back, grant amount; $125,000.

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