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| New England Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition |
| NEW! Parents, take an online training on inhalant abuse developed by the Massachusetts Bureau of Substance Abuse Services and Howard Wolfe, Director of the New England Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition. In just 20-30 minutes you will learn what parents need to know to protect your children from the dangers of inhalant abuse. www.inhalantabusetraining.org |
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Project Abstract |
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The New England Institute of Addiction Studies, in cooperation with five of the New England State Prevention Authorities, proposes to strengthen the regional prevention infrastructure which is in place to respond to the problem of inhalant abuse. It will work in partnership with existing prevention services at the state and local levels as follows:
1) Regional Task Force and Materials and Strategies Dissemination: It will create a regional Inhalant Abuse Prevention Work Group, which will meet quarterly to a) review the nature and extent of the inhalant problem across the region, b) examine specific strategies and tools which are effective in responding to the problem, and c) plan for the dissemination of educational materials and other resources that have applicability in individual states across the region. The Task Force will include the NPN representatives from each of the state alcohol and drug authorities, and at least one other representative appointed by the state NPN representative. 2) Intensive State Strategic Planning and Systems Development in Three States: Two states, Maine and Rhode Island, have identified this issue as a high priority for them. In these two states we will replicate the work that has been done in Massachusetts: a) conducting a comprehensive assessment of the nature of the problem, region by region, b) forming partnerships with local youth serving professionals, and c) providing training, information dissemination, and technical assistance to these groups in an effort to engage them in effective inhalant prevention efforts. In addition, funds will be used to enhance the prevention services in Massachusetts. Projects during the first grant year will include a revision and piloting of the State Fire Marshall's fire safety school curriculum guide to include discussion of inhalants, and the development of at least one on-line course on inhalant use prevention. 3) Identification and Referral of Requests for Information and Technical Assistance to the State Prevention Systems: Incidental to the capacity building efforts described above, project staff will become identified regionally as having special knowledge about inhalant abuse. They will receive and respond directly to inquiries from individuals and organizations that need help with specific people. Staff will use the inquiries to connect people with in-state resources that can answer their questions: we will serve to increase the capacity of these resources though training and consultation and act as a broker for the state prevention programs in this process. The impact of these efforts will be evaluated, comparing changes across states in reported strategies initiated to prevent inhalant abuse and reported use by populations most at risk. For more information view the web site at http://www.inhalantprevention.org or contact either (781-643-7272) or (207-621-2549). |