Preventing & Reducing Youth Substance Misuse
Overview
The use of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs can have significant and long-term health and academic consequences for children and adolescents. Research has shown that environmental strategies – community norms, shared values, and public messages that promote healthy, drug-free living – make a substantial difference in keeping youth better protected from the negative influences of alcohol, tobacco, and drug use. Schools are uniquely positioned to provide programs and services that promote student health and remove barriers to learning. They provide an ideal setting for education, prevention, and early interventions of alcohol, tobacco, and substance use.
Resources for Administrators & Educators
- Best Practices for School-Connected Overdoses & Collaboration with Law Enforcement
- Resources: Parental Notification, Law Enforcement Collaboration, and Student
Education to Prevent Student Overdoses - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) High-Risk Substance Use Among Youth
- Health Smart Virginia Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug Use Prevention
- Stanford Medicine Tobacco Prevention Toolkit
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Substance Use Prevention Brochures for Parents/Caregivers
- Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Authority Youth Programs
- Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) Guidelines Concerning Student Drug Testing in Virginia Public Schools (PDF) 2004
- Whitehouse Office of National Drug Control Policy Substance Use Prevention: A Resource Guide for School Staff
Information & Research Organizations
- Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)
- Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) StopAlcoholAbuse.gov
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- NIH National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
- Partnership to End Addiction
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- Virginia Office for Substance Abuse Prevention (VOSAP)
- youth.gov
Resources for School-Based Mental Health Professionals
- SAMHSA Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center
- School-Based Health Alliance: SBIRT-in-SCHCs
- VDOE Inhalant Abuse Prevention: Staff Education and Student Curriculum (PDF)
- Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth Prevention Lessons
Resources for Students & Families
- Addiction Policy Forum Navigating Treatment and Addiction: A Guide for Families
- SAMHSA Tips for Teens Series
- U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration & U.S. Department of Education Office of Safe and Healthy Students Growing Up Drug Free: A Parent's Guide to Prevention