Youth Substance Use Prevention Services

The County of Orange (County) Health Care Agency (HCA) is seeking proposals from qualified organizations to provide Youth Substance Use Prevention Services in Orange County. The services requested in this solicitation are intended to reduce substance use by youth through the implementation of evidence-based, innovative, and community-defined practices.   Tragic health, social, and economic problems result from the use of alcohol and other drugs by youth. Early initiation of substance use increases the risk for a variety of health and social problems during adolescence, as well as later in life. Alcohol use by people under the age of 21 has significantly declined in the past two decades due to prevention efforts at the federal, state, and local levels. But even with this progress, alcohol continues to be the most widely used substance of abuse among American youth. According to the most recent (2019-2021) California Health Kids Survey data, 11% of Orange County 11th grade students reported past thirty (30) day use of alcohol compared to 14% of California 11th graders. Cannabis/marijuana use during adolescence, a period when the brain is still developing, is associated with negative impacts on brain development, poor school performance, increases in school drop-out rates, and increased risk for psychotic disorders and depression in adulthood. The opioid and illegal fentanyl crisis has had devasting results.  According to the California Department of Public Health, from 2018 – 2021, fentanyl-related overdose deaths among Orange County youth steadily increased.  The 2022 data show a slight decline, however, there is still prevention work to do.  Prevention has been defined as “an active process of creating conditions and/or personal attributes that promote the well-being of people” (Lofquist, 1983). Woven within youth prevention services are the principles of youth development, defined as an “ongoing process in which young people are engaged in building the skills, attitudes, knowledge and experiences that prepare them for the present and the future” (Baines and Selta, 1999). The “risk and protective factor” model (Hawkins and Catalano) is supported by research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This approach targets interventions to reduce risks and increase protection for young people. Individual protective factors include self-efficacy to say no to substance use and involvement in school and community activities; risk factors can include misperceptions of peer use and low perceived risk of harm. Health disparities exist among groups and are attributed in part to differences in economic status, geographic setting, racial/ethnic identity, as well as social and linguistic isolation.  Thus, prevention services need to be provided to individuals who are underserved, or unserved, particularly from racially and ethnically diverse communities including monolingual non-English speakers, communities of color, recent immigrants, and refugees in Orange County.   The scope of prevention services outlined in this RFP are guided by this definition of prevention and the tenets of youth development.