From The State Center for the Application of Prevention Technology and State Incentive Grants by Al Fredrickson

As many of you know, the Minnesota Institute of Public Health recently received a $1 million Center for the Application of Prevention Technology (CAPT) grant. You may not be aware that at the same time there were grants of approximately $3 million available to state Governors' offices called State Incentive Grants (SIG's). While the purpose of the CAPT grant is to apply the best of current prevention technology throughout the region, the SIG's have a different purpose.

One of the major purposes of the SIG's is to have the states review the distribution of all prevention dollars and develop and implement a plan to redirect prevention funding to eliminate gaps and utilize the most effective prevention approaches.

Currently, states receive federal funds from a wide variety of sources. Here in Minnesota, the Department of Children, Families and Learning receives funds from the Department of Education's Drug Free Schools and Communities Act; the Office of Drug Policy and Violence Prevention receives funds from the Department of Justice; and the Department of Human Services receives the Substance Abuse Block Grant (HHS). Other agencies receive smaller amounts of money, all to use in efforts to curb, prevent or fight drug, alcohol and tobacco use and abuse.

In the SIG program the Federal government seeks to encourage the various state agencies to work together and try to maximize the use of their prevention funding. The opportunity to apply for these funds brought together a work group of state agency staff to collaborate on writing the grant application. Although Minnesota didn't receive funding in the first round (only five states were funded), the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention hopes to have funds available next year to fund an additional 15 to 20 of these grants.

Receiving one of the SIG's will bring additional funds to bear in Minnesota's efforts to effectively address alcohol, tobacco and other drug use. It is the additional goal of redirecting existing funds that will provide us with the opportunity to truly collaborate at the agency level and maximize the use of our prevention resources.