Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program Funding Battle Goes to Washington
Tuesday, June 29, 2009
President Obama has earmarked $290 million in funding cuts from the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program administered by the US Department of Education.
In an effort to save the funding which provides proven and documented assistance in reducing subtance abuse in Central Virginia and across the entire Commonwealth, several leaders from the Community Coalitions of Virginia (CCOVA) traveled to Washington to meet with representatives of Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner.
Nancy Hans (Roanoke County), Sue Parr (Fredericksburg), Rick McKeel (Central Virginia) and Kendall Plahn (Chesterfield) made the case that continued funding was vital to maintaining the prevention beachhead that has been established in local communities across Virginia. Each office was presented with a book containing nearly 140 examples of how SDFSC funding has made a difference at the local level in Virginia.
Among the issues CCOVA representatives addressed in Washington and the challenges facing Virginia in light of discontinued funding are:
The elimination of funding creates unfunded mandates for data collection, reporting and other activities. Data collection for DFC grantees will disappear in a large number of communities because SDFSC coordinators pave the way for that to happen.
If a portion of the $290 million earmarked for elimination is diverted to competitive grants, only the communities with outstanding grant writers will have a legitimate chance to secure any of the available funds. This shortchanges smaller communities who cannot afford those services to increase their chances.
The 2007 Advisory Committee Report on SDFSC did not recommend elimination of the program. It advocates for enhancements to make the program more effective.
After school activities benefiting youth and families that also provide a significant buffer against gang recruitment and activity will disappear; and a significant protective to factor to gang and related drug activity will be lost in Virginia and across the nation.
Community coalitions combined with local SDFSC coordinators are a powerful weapon with documented results (Roanoke County, Chesterfield County, Fairfax, Hanover County, etc.)
In Central Virginia, as many as ten local SDFSC coordinators who partner with local and regional prevention coalitions will disappear resulting in a dramatic and draconian cut in prevention infrastructure.
Suspended and at-risk youth will not have a viable, trained resource to conduct assessment and provide services. Many or most will withdraw and self-medicate in response.
Virginia, like many states, does not provide prevention dollars in its state budget. If SDFSC funding disappears, so does meaningful substance abuse prevention work inside Virginia public schools.
Cities and counties are beginning to prepare for their youth drug use numbers to increase due to the potential for SDFSC to be eliminated (ie. Roanoke County).
In light of the many challenges discontinued funding would create, it is imperative that Senate and House leaders make the case that funding be continued. In addition to monitoring Virginia leadership, we are also monitoring and staying in contact with staff of Senators Chris Dodd (Connecticut) and Charles Grassley (Iowa) who are working to maintain funding at least at the current level.
Additionally, Alliance and CCOVA leaders will be working to ensure that information collected in local Virginia communities is properly used and reported at the federal level to make certain that legislators, program managers and taxpayers understand and maximize the benefits of the hard work going on here.
Stay tuned as the Alliance will be actively involved in this issue through the entire federal budget process.
Click here to learn more about the Community Coalitions of Virginia (CCOVA).