Healthy communities, healthy states: A State/community partnership to transform prevention system development in South Dakota

In 2007, the South Dakota Department of Human Services' Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse (DADA) launched a multi-year initiative to address priority public and behavioral health issues by supporting the ability of SD communities to conduct formal needs assessments; engage in future-oriented, long-term and outcome-based planning processes; and implement comprehensive, community-based public health approaches. Toward this end, DADA worked closely with its community partners and the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) to design and implement intensive technical assistance conducted through a variety of venues to support this system transformation effort. Phase one involved the design and implementation of a standard needs assessment tool to ensure that consistent data was being collected throughout the State and enable State and community stakeholders to monitor whether intended outcomes were being achieved. Phase two involved identification of overarching State and community outcomes and a transition to outcome-based planning, contracting and resource allocation processes to increase the accountability and effectiveness of the use of State and federal funding. In addition, DADA required that community funding recipients also develop a plan for local capacity development to ensure that they: 1) have representative and coordinated multi-sector leadership; 2) have adequate capacity to implement the strategies needed to achieve their outcomes; 3) are using effective practices and processes; and 4) are able to generate the resources needed to sustain outcomes. This presentation will discuss successes and lessons learned, and provide examples of all tools and templates used.