PHOENIX — Governor Doug Ducey and the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family today announced the release of a competitive grant solicitation in a Request for Grant Application for the Arizona High School Health and Wellness Program. This financial support to Arizona’s public high schools is an ongoing effort by Governor Ducey to ensure that our schools are equipped with the necessary resources to effectively educate and protect Arizona’s youth.
“We are committed to providing schools with resources to educate and protect Arizona students,” said Governor Ducey. “This grant will provide additional resources for programs that seek to prevent drug and alcohol abuse and increase the overall behavioral health and well-being of our youth.”
The goal of the Arizona High School Health and Wellness Program is to prevent the onset of underage drinking, marijuana use, and prescription drug misuse and abuse by utilizing evidence based programs.
“Ninety percent of all addiction occurs from youth starting to drink and use drugs during the teen years,” said Debbie Moak, Director of the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith and Family. “To me, that’s a clear target. That has a bull’s-eye on it and I know where to direct resources.”
A growing body of research suggests that social-emotional skills have at least equal, if not greater, influence on lifelong success than academic skills alone. Competitive prevention grants not only support school systems but also encourage collaborative partnerships between these schools and local substance abuse coalitions, non-profits and other community resources.
Many evidence-based prevention programs have been shown to develop more positive school climates and student-teacher relationships, thereby improving school attendance and academic performance. The Arizona High School Health and Wellness Program has been built on the understanding that school attachment and student participation in positive activities, such as substance abuse prevention programs, help protect children against risky behavior and reduce the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.
For more information, visit: http://substanceabuse.az.gov/substance-abuse/grants. The competitive grant competition remains open until April 4, 2017.
For more information or assistance, contact Governor Ducey’s press office: (602) 542-1342.
