State of RI Final Strategic Plan for Substance Abuse Prevention 2016-2019

The RI Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH), 4/12/16
BHDDH and key stakeholders, who have a vested interest in prevention, have collaborated to develop the following strategic prevention plan. The purpose of this plan is to outline BHDDH’s primary goals and strategies to strengthen the infrastructure and to provide support at the State and community-level to prevent and reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs among youth and young adults. BHDDH utilizes a life span framework across the Institute of Medicine (IOM) care continuum focusing on priority populations and activities, including but not limited to substance abuse prevention, mental health promotion, violence prevention and tobacco control to promote health and mental wellness in Rhode Island (RI). The life span (course, or stages) framework helps to explain health and disease patterns, particularly health disparities, across populations and over time.