Prevention & Wellness Academy of Ohio

Challenge

While national data has suggested that youth substance misuse has remained steady since 2021, accumulating research indicates that young people’s mental health needs have been increasing over the past two decades. School-based wellness and prevention programs have been shown to support positive youth health outcomes, but many districts require support to effectively implement these programs.

Creating healthy environments where young people can thrive is a priority in Ohio. With funding from the Elevance Health Foundation, EDC is working with Prevention Action Alliance (PAA) to run the Prevention & Wellness Academy of Ohio. The Academy is providing technical assistance (TA) to four school districts in the state, offering them the training and resources they need to implement substance misuse and wellness programming through their existing multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS).

Key Activities

The project is carrying out the following activities:

• Providing training and TA to Elgin local schools, Springfield City School District, Pleasant Local School District, and Northeastern Local School District
• Adapting EDC’s proven Mental Health Academy structure to address youth substance use prevention
• Building grantee capacity to implement tools and resources
• Delivering in-person and virtual learning sessions to grantees
• Guiding the use of data in MTSS
• Supporting district implementation and use of the OHYES! survey

Impact

• The Academy’s TA has reached educators serving 12,000 students in the four districts served.