Substance Abuse Prevention and Control

Prevention Monthly Briefing

July 2021 | Issue #6
Prevention Monthly Briefing

Team/Person of the Month! Prevention Coalitions!

Congratulations to participants and coordinators of this years’ KEY (Knowledge Empowers Youth) Summit held virtually on May 27th. The event brought together 50 students from various school districts for a day of skill-building, games, and reflection. This year’s theme was "Be Kind to your Mind". Thank you to the event hosts, including Asian American Drug Abuse Program, Helpline Youth Counseling, Korean Youth Community Center, and DPH Positive Youth Development Program.

LAC Board appoints 5 to first-ever Youth Commission: Five young leaders have been appointed to join Los Angeles County’s first-ever Youth Commission, charged with transforming the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The commission will formally launch in July with a total of 15 commissioners. Its goal is to give youth with lived experience in the child welfare and juvenile systems a chance to lend their voice to systems reform. The youth commissioners, appointed by district, are:
  • Florencia “Flo” Valenzuela, First District;
  • La’Toya Cooper, Second District;
  • Daniel Bisuano, Third District;
  • Jacqueline Robles, Fourth District; and
  • Amanda Hernandez, Fifth District.

SAPC Issues, Training & Resources

COVID-19 vaccinations: These are available at County-run sites and many community sites without an appointment. To find a vaccination site near you, make an appointment at vaccination sites, and much more, visit: www.VaccinateLACounty.com (English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.com (Spanish). If you don’t have internet access, are unable to use a computer, or you are over 65, you can call 1-833-540-0473 for help finding an appointment or scheduling a home-visit, if you are homebound. Vaccinations are always free and open to eligible residents and workers of Los Angeles County, regardless of immigration status.

As of June 18, 10,183,455 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to people across Los Angeles County. Of these, 5,717,803 were first doses and 4,465,652 were second doses. Among L.A. County residents 16 and over, 67% have received one dose of vaccine and 58% are fully vaccinated.

SAPC Updates: During last month’s Qtly. Provider meeting, SAPC Director Dr. Gary Tsai announced the launch of SAPC’s new mobile app, www.RecoverLA.org This app offers County residents various substance use disorder resources, such as SUD 101, finding treatment, and the County’s substance use treatment helpline. For other SAPC updates announced on June 17th, click here.

Prevention Services Re-solicitation Update: The first phase of the SAPC Prevention Re-solicitation process, list of Master Agreement, has been approved by the County Board of Supervisors. The next phase consists of the release of Work Solicitation Orders.

UPCOMING Prevention Training- PTTC EVENTS
July 14th A Three-Part Webinar Series: Data Collection during COVID-19: Best Practices, Challenges, and Solutions
July 28th Webinar: Selecting Evidence-based Interventions: Finding the Best Fit

National Publications from NIDA and SAMHSA:

Medical records analysis links cannabis use disorder in pregnancy to infant health problems
A new study of nearly five million live births recorded in California from 2001 to 2012 found that babies born to mothers diagnosed with cannabis use disorders at delivery were more likely to experience negative health outcomes, including preterm birth and low birth weight, compared to babies born to mothers without a cannabis use disorder diagnosis. The analysis was published in Addiction and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

SAMHSA Awards Vibrant Emotional Health the Grant to Administer 988 Dialing Code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline-988 Available to All Americans in July 2022
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced Vibrant Emotional Health (Vibrant) will be the administrators of the new 988 dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (Lifeline). A pair of the agency’s grants, totaling $48 million and including $32 million in Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 funding, will fund the effort to better harness technology to help Americans in mental health crisis and save more lives. For the press release, click here.

SPA Coalition News (EPS)

Agency News (CPS, APS)

Congrats and best wishes to the RAM 2021-22 RAM LEADERSHIP

During last month’s general meeting of Rethinking Access Marijuana (RAM), the group announced election of its new leaders and committee chairs:
  • Chair: Brenda Villanueva, PYS
  • Vice-Chair: Claudia Hathcock, Day One
  • Secretary: Janelly Juarez, NCADD-SFV
  • Education Chair: Julian Olmos, Phoenix House
  • Media Chair: Daniel Fong, Day One
  • Policy Chair: Michael Browning, PCS -pending
  • Research Chair: Naomy Mendizabal, BHS Hollywood

Upcoming Events and Deadlines:

July Calendar:
July 1st - Happy New Fiscal Year!! June 30th marks the end of FY2020-21

Please be sure to submit your invoices and Year-End Progress Reports by the deadline. Thank you for your commitment, professionalism, and collaboration to improve the health and wellbeing of young people and residents in Los Angeles County!
 
Public Health has made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translation. However, no computerized translation is perfect and is not intended to replace traditional translation methods. If questions arise concerning the accuracy of the information, please refer to the English edition of the website, which is the official version.
Los Angeles County Seal: Enriching lives through effective and caring services