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Anti-Drug Coalition Led by Kat Allen, MPH '04, Wins Prestigious Award
The Community Anti-Drugs Coalition of America (CADCA) and its National Coalition Institute named the Franklin County Communities That Care Coalition as one of three national organizations to win the 2007 Got Outcomes! Coalitions of the Year award. The winners were selected for their innovative and community-wide strategies to curb underage drinking, binge drinking, and illicit drug use among youth.
The prestigious awards recognize coalitions that have successfully reduced substance abuse in their community through evidence-based programs, policies, or strategies. Applicants undergo a rigorous review process and winners are judged by a panel of expert coalition leaders.
Said Kat Allen, co-chair of the Franklin County Communities That Care Coalition, "We're honored to be receiving this kind of national recognition, and delighted to see such a big decrease in teen drug and alcohol use. This didn't happen by accident, and the entire community deserves credit."
The Franklin County Communities That Care Coalition won in the "Coalition as a whole" category, which recognizes coalitions that achieved targeted population-level outcomes through the use of comprehensive community-wide strategies. By implementing a variety of community-level strategies, such as parenting education, alcohol server training, compliance checks, a social norms marketing campaign and drug prevention curriculum in schools, the group achieved a number of reductions in alcohol and drug use among teens. For example, among 8th grade students, they reduced alcohol use by 24 percent and lowered marijuana use by 39 percent. Among 12th graders, they cut down on binge drinking by two percent.
"I feel so grateful for my Mailman School education, which prepared me so well for this work," Ms. Allen continued. "I am glad to have the opportunity to apply what I learned as a student in the Department of Population and Family Health in such a concrete and practical way."
The winners were recognized during the Awards Luncheon at CADCA's National Leadership Forum XVIII, held at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center in February. In addition to recognition among their peers, the coalitions received free registration, travel and lodging at CADCA's National Leadership Forum, promotion in CADCA publications and technical assistance to market their organization's activities.
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