The Roane County Anti-Drug Coalition (RCADC) is a private, non-profit, grassroots corporation. The mission of RCADC is to reduce youth substance use; to educate and raise awareness of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug issues; to promote community involvement; and to strengthen community partnerships and prevention strategies in Roane County.
Federal Contracts
Drug Free Communities – From 2007-2018 RCADC was part of the Drug Free Communities program (DFC), a federal grant program that provides funding to community-based coalitions that organize to prevent youth substance use. The purpose of the DFC program is to strengthen collaboration among community entities and reduce substance use among youth. Grants awarded through the DFC program are intended to support established community-based coalitions capable of effecting community-level change. The DFC program enables RCADC to work with leaders within Roane County to identify and address local youth substance use problems and create sustainable community-level change. There is a 10 year limit on funding through this program, but the coalition’s goals still mirror the DFC prevention model.
Community-Based Coalition Enhancement Grant to Address Local Drug Crisis (CARA) – This program was created by the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016. The goal of the program is to prevent and reduce the abuse of opioids or methamphetamines and the abuse of prescription medications among youth ages 12-18 in communities throughout the United States.
Grants awarded through the CARA Local Drug Crises program are intended as an enhancement to current or formerly funded Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grant award recipients as established community-based youth substance use prevention coalitions capable of effecting community-level change.
STOP (Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking) Act Grant– The purpose of the STOP Act grant program is to prevent and reduce alcohol use among youth ages 12-20 in communities throughout the United States. STOP Act funds focus primarily on strengthening collaboration among community entities to reduce alcohol use among youth in current and former DFC grantee communities. The STOP Act program includes implementation of the following strategies:
- increase awareness and community education on the consequences of underage drinking
- increase the perception of harm of underage drinking
- support enforcement efforts
- target remote areas of the county such as lakes and ATV trails
- increase awareness of the dangers of boating under the influence
- increase infrastructure development and reestablish underage drinking prevention as a priority in the community
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) – Each year AmeriCorps Seniors make a difference in our community by:
- distributing materials for the “Count it! Lock it! Drop it!” campaign to encourage responsible storage and disposal of medication,
- the launch of a county-wide media campaign focused on increasing volunteer efforts in prevention,
- participation in youth prevention activities in collaboration with Roane County Schools,
- organization and training for community members on prevention basics and making referrals for treatment,
- and by delivering substance abuse education and information on access to treatment with a focus on military veterans.
Volunteers age 55+ are serving through AmeriCorps Seniors programs, led by AmeriCorps, the federal agency for service, volunteering and civic engagement.
State Contracts
Tennessee Strategic Prevention Framework for Prescription Drugs – RCADC contracts with the State of Tennessee Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services under the Strategic Prevention Framework for Prescription Drugs grant (SPF Rx) through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This program is designed to raise awareness about the dangers of sharing medications and work with pharmaceutical and medical communities on the risks of overprescribing to young adults. SPF Rx is focused on raising community awareness and bringing prescription drug abuse prevention activities and education to schools, communities, parents, prescribers and their patients.
Established Coalitions Block Grant – RCADC has a contract with the State of Tennessee Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services to increase prevention efforts in Roane County by focusing on the coordination and implementation of environmental strategies. Environmental strategies change the community environment by targeting community conditions, standards, institutions, structures, systems and policies that tend to support social and health consequences of substance abuse in the community. Specifically, environmental strategies seek to limit access to substances and to change the culture and contexts within which decisions about substance use are made.
Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth (TCCY)– a contract with TCCY enables RCADC to provide LifeSkills Training (LST) to elementary and middle school students in Roane County. The goals of this program are to prevent the onset of substance use among middle school students; to increase the perception of harm for tobacco, alcohol and other drug use of participants by 10%; to increase the number of students who report having knowledge of and using coping and stress management skills by 75%; and to teach youth personal self-management skills, general social skills and skills to resist social influences to engage in risky behaviors.