OhioMHAS will accept their award today during CADCA’s 24th annual National Leadership Forum in National Harbor, Md.
Washington, D.C. – Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) has named the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) its Outstanding State Member. This prestigious award recognizes an outstanding state program that has made significant contributions to community-based drug prevention coalitions in their state and has helped support CADCA’s mission of creating safe, healthy and drug-free communities. OhioMHAS will accept their award today during CADCA’s 24th annual National Leadership Forum, which brings together more than 2500 community leaders across the country to learn effective strategies to solve their community’s substance abuse and violence problems.
CADCA’s Outstanding State Member award recognizes OhioMHAS for their commitment to community substance abuse prevention and strong support of Drug-Free Communities (DFC) coalitions in their state.
Ohio has been a member of CADCA for nearly 20 years. Throughout this time, they have collaborated with CADCA around training, technical assistance and advocacy issues. Not only has the Department been a long-time CADCA member, they have collaborated with the Drug Free Action Alliance to increase coalition excellence and further assist the nearly 100 community coalitions in the state.
Ohio has a strong focus on substance abuse prevention and a rich history of coalition development supported by the OhioMHAS. OhioMHAS funds initiatives aimed at helping coalitions in building community capacity and readiness for their coalition work. Throughout 2013, a number of senior CADCA staff were included in major prevention events throughout the state on issues ranging from marijuana to prescription drug abuse, and in the fall of 2013, Ohio provided funds to the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati to implement a CADCA National Coalition Academy.
“Prevention and wellness are the keys to healthy families and safe, drug-free schools and communities. We are honored to receive this award, and remain committed to working with our outstanding coalitions and statewide network of prevention providers to play a leading role in effective, evidence-based prevention programming in our state,” said OhioMHAS Director Tracy Plouck.
“We are very fortunate to have partners like Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services who understand the importance of community-based drug prevention and support the efforts of local community anti-drug coalitions in their state,” said CADCA Chairman and CEO, Gen. Arthur Dean. “Together, we can help create safer and healthier communities for our young people.”
CADCA’s National Leadership Forum is the nation’s largest training for substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals and researchers, featuring more than 80 courses to help participants gain new skills to prevent and reduce substance abuse in their communities. For more information about CADCA’s 24th National Leadership Forum, visit https://forum.cadca.org.
Members of the media interested in press credentials for the National Leadership Forum should contact Natalia Martinez Duncan at (202) 344-5464 or via e-mail at nmartinez@cadca.org.
