Announcements

Each year, the Prevention Awards of Excellence recognize outstanding prevention professionals, community members, youth, and coalitions for their exemplary contributions to substance use disorder prevention and mental health promotion across Washington state.

The awards are made possible by a volunteer review team, which provides feedback on the past year's nomination materials and process and reviews the current year's nominations. 

The review… read more

If you missed the Drug Enforcement Agency's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, you can still dispose of your old, unneeded, or unused medications at year-round drop-off locations! For additional locations in Washington state, please visit the Safe Medication Return website. 

Did you know that each year more than 100,000 Americans die to a drug poisoning or overdose death? By cleaning out your medicine cabinets, you can help prevent drug misuse before it starts.

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We are nearing the next cycle of Communities Talk!

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will be sponsoring stipends for the next round of Communities Talk to Prevent Alcohol and Other Drug Misuse, an initiative that focuses on alcohol and other drug misuse that negatively affects communities and our youth. Since 2006, the initiative has provided prevention resources and stipends to thousands of community-based organizations, colleges, and… read more

Life moves fast. And sometimes, it’s easy to forget the importance of taking time to take care of yourself. Share your favorite way to practice self-care and inspire others to find their own. Send in a video and get paid for creating content that could be featured in the You Can campaign. Plus, have your name entered for a chance to win one of five $100 Amazon gift cards. Get your friends to participate and earn even more! 

This video project is open to everyone in… read more

The Digital Well-Being Challenge invites students, ages 13 and up, and the schools that serve them to address critical topics in digital citizenship and well-being, including healthy social media use, digital citizenship education, and responsible technology policies. The challenge is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA).

The challenge… read more

Positive Indian Parenting (PIP) is an eight-week curriculum, developed by the National Indian Child Welfare Association, which provides practical and culturally specific training for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) parents. The training helps parents explore the values and attitudes expressed in traditional AI/AN child-rearing practices and apply them to modern parenting. 

Train-the-trainer trainings are designed to prepare facilitators to educate and support native… read more

December is recognized as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month to raise awareness about the risks associated with impaired driving and promote responsible decision-making during the holiday season and beyond. 

In Washington state, drivers impaired by alcohol and/or other drugs are involved in more than half of all fatal crashes. According to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the number of impaired driving fatalities increased 48 percent between 2018 and 2023.… read more

The Washington State Attorney General's Office (AGO) is recruiting youth, ages 12-25, who live in Washington state to serve on a statewide youth advisory group for HearMeWA. HearMeWA is a free statewide program for youth up to age 25 who are dealing with a range of challenges, from stress and anxiety to threats and abuse. HearMeWA receives and responds to tips about risks or potential risks to youth safety and well-being. 

Youth advisory group members will have the… read more

Rede Group, a contractor for the Washington Department of Health (DOH), is surveying behavioral health programs and facilities in Washington to understand the landscape of the policies and practices related to nicotine dependence treatment, recovery, and tobacco use policies in the behavioral health system.

We would greatly appreciate your participation in this effort. There are two ways to participate, you can do one or both:

Each year the Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery compiles and submits an Annual Synar Report (ASR) to the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  Part of this process is to make the report available for public review prior to finalizing and submitting to SAMHSA.

While the public review comment period for this report is now closed, your comments are always welcome.  Send them to: Ray.Horodowicz@hca.wa.gov.  Please… read more