Young people aren’t waiting to make a difference. They’re already showing up for their communities. This July, CADCA’s 25th Annual Mid-Year Training Institute gives them the tools, training, and connections to lead prevention work in their homes and schools.  

CADCA today announced that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has contracted with the organization to host the inaugural Fentanyl Free America Summit alongside CADCA’s 25th Annual Mid-Year Training Institute, taking place July 12-16, 2026, at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. 

Fentanyl remains the leading driver of the nation’s overdose crisis. According to the CDC, preliminary data predicts more than 70,000 drug overdose deaths for the 12-month period ending in November 2025 with synthetic opioids, primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl, involved in the majority of those deaths. Only 2 milligrams of fentanyl, an amount small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil, can be a lethal dose. 

The only constant in life is change, something that most coalition leaders deal with constantly. And yet, it’s rarely something that they feel fully prepared for. This topic was front and center in CADCA’s Competencies in Focus webinar, which focused on change management. 

Prevention work doesn’t often translate easily into words, especially to people seeing it from the outside. It’s meetings in school cafeterias after hours, community data translated into action plans, and neighbors organizing around issues that are deeply personal. 

Coalitions spend a lot of time thinking about how to reach young people, but what happens when you flip the script and start thinking about how to work with them instead? 

CADCA is proud to welcome the newest members of the National Youth Council (NYC), a select group of young leaders ages 15-18 who are shaping the future of substance misuse prevention.

What is secondhand smoke?  Secondhand smoke is the smoke or aerosol exhaled by a person who smokes any type of lighted or heated product. It is also the smoke or emission released directly from the product while it burns or heats. While the percentage of US adults that smoke cigarettes has reached a new low dropping below 10%, smoking and secondhand smoke exposure remain leading causes of preventable death and disease.  

What does it take to choose the right prevention approach for your community and make sure it works? That was the focus of the tenth webinar in CADCA’s 18-part Competencies in Focus series, which took a deep dive into the Evidence-Informed Strategies competency. 

On April 13, 28 members of the Senate signed onto a bipartisan letter led by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). The letter, addressed to the appropriations committee, advocated for funding of the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Program at the highest possible level, but not below the current level of $109 million.

CADCA has reviewed the recently released Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 President’s Budget Request (PBR). The PBR represents the President’s vision and funding priorities for all federal programs.

Every year, CADCA’s annual report is a chance to take a step back and look at what we’ve built together and where the organization is going next. Between shifting federal funding and evolving community needs, 2025 pushed us to rethink priorities and adapt to the changing landscape. 

At its National Leadership Forum in February, CADCA welcomed distinguished international leaders representing prevention organizations from Türkiye, Canada, and Spain

One program CADCA is proud to support is the Community Advocate Network, a city and county initiative under the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership designed to connect Arkansas communities with the resources and partnerships needed to address the opioid crisis. 

Communities see the greatest impact when prevention is built into the systems that support them. That principle is at the heart of a partnership between the U.S. Army, the city of Alexandria, and CADCA, culminating in the launch of the Army Community Prevention Leadership Academy (CPLA).