NEW MEXICO PREVENTION
Welcome to the “unofficial” website for the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention. The Office of Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP) is part of the Behavioral Health Services Division with the New Mexico Human Services Department. This site provides information on OSAP programs relating to the past, present and future by including past documents, posting necessary documents (including evaluation), and providing resources for community-level substance abuse prevention efforts in New Mexico.
The OSAP establishes an integrated and comprehensive substance abuse prevention services delivery system through the promotion of sound policy, effective practice and cooperative partnerships to ensure the availability of quality prevention. It is committed to the implementation of evidence-based prevention programs and infrastructure development activities. The OSAP provides the infrastructure and other necessary support to local stakeholders in selecting and implementing policies, programs, and practices proven to be effective in research settings and communities.
The OSAP is dedicated to improving and maximizing the impact of New Mexico's substance abuse prevention system. To this end, OSAP seeks to build the capacity of the state's local prevention providers to deliver effective prevention services aimed at reducing alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse.
Current State Level Prevention Projects
In addition to community-based prevention work, OSAP coordinates state-level partnerships that support and contribute to the work at the local level. Effective, aligned substance abuse prevention initiatives can minimize problem behaviors and prevent a host of other public health, education and social problems. Two important partnerships OSAP coordinates are the Statewide Epidemiological and Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW) and the Prevent Prescription Drug/Opioid Overdose-Related Deaths (PDO) Project.
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) funds are block grant funds awarded bi- annually to states, tribal governments, and other jurisdictions through the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). OSAP uses SAPT funding dedicated to substance abuse prevention to support 22 coalitions in communities throughout New Mexico, as well as Synar tobacco merchant education and compliance check activities.
The Partnerships for Success (PFS) grant from the Centers for Substance Abuse Prevention is a 5-year grant awarded to New Mexico in 2015 for alcohol prevention for youth 12-20 and prescription pain-killer misuse prevention among youth age 12- 25 through the Partnerships for Success program. OSAP uses these funds to provide prevention services through coalitions in four counties and five colleges in New Mexico: Chaves County, Cibola County, Curry County, Roosevelt County, University of New Mexico (UNM), New Mexico State University-Main Campus, San Juan College, New Mexico Tech, and the Institute of American Indian Arts.
The PDO project aims to prevent overdose death through the: 1) purchase and distribution of naloxone for overdose reversal, and; 2) training to a wide variety of first responders to administer naloxone in high-need communities in New Mexico and to increase state systems capacity and infrastructure.
The goal of the FR CARA project is to increase the capacity of local professional first responders to improve the outcomes of overdose survivors of adverse opioid related incidents. This grant is by the Office of Substance Abuse Prevention (OSAP) of the Behavioral Health Services Division (BHSD), New Mexico Human Services Department (HSD). Professional first responders are trained and provided resources on carrying and administering Narcan and the Good Samaritan Law. In addition, in Santa Fe and Las Cruces processes, protocols, and mechanisms for referral to treatment and recovery communities will be established to provide further support to opioid overdose survivors and their loved ones.
The SPF Rx grant intends to improve the effectiveness of the NM prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), increase use of the system by prescribers, and improve opioid prescribing practices among health care providers in Bernalillo County, NM. An annual opioid prescriber survey is conducted to assess medical providers about their awareness of and concern about the over prescribing of opioids to patients.
The NM Opioid State Targeted Response Grant (STR) initiative is overseen by the New Mexico’s Human Services Department’s Behavioral Health Services Division (HSD/BHSD). The goals of the grant are to 1) increase the number of people who receive treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), 2) increase the number of people who receive OUD recovery services, 3) increase the number of providers implementing Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), 4) increase the number of trained OUD prevention and treatment providers, and 5) decrease the rate of opioid misuse, opioid overdoses, and opioid-related deaths. The STR grant funds, in part, the training and distribution of Narcan (naloxone) to first responders across the state to use to reverse opioid overdoses as well as training of health care providers to provide MAT to people with OUD.
State Level Prevention Workgroups
The ongoing focus of the SEOW is the development and informed use of assessment data and indicators for use in community planning, prioritization and evaluation; and, the support of evidence-based strategies, policies and practices in all community prevention activity. The SEOW meets monthly, comprised of members of state agencies (Department of Health, Human Services Department, Children, Youth & Families Department, and Department of Transportation), local prevention providers and evaluators, community members, PIRE and Coop Consulting.
The vision of the NM Statewide Epidemiological and Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW) is that data and products produced by the SEOW will be utilized to expand data-driven decision making and collaboration that support community level outcomes related to behavioral health. The mission of the SEOW is to provide strategic guidance to the state and communities on using assessment and epidemiological data and to direct broad, public prioritization processes based on: severity, burden, trends, preventability/changeability, capacity/resources, need, readiness, political will and public concern.
The PDO Advisory Council is charged with creating the strategic plan, including purchasing strategies and distribution plan, and overseeing the PDO project. The Council is led by the CEO of the Behavioral Health Collaborative and includes partners from the Department of Health, the Board of Pharmacy, Medical and other professional Boards, Probation and Parole Division, managed care and treatment providers, advocates and local overdose prevention coalition leaders.
The Continuous Quality Improvement Committee is composed of those who do or see the naloxone distribution work occurring in the local communities of high need. This committee supports the project using classic and adapted quality improvement approaches to make the project more effective. The committee studies local training, distribution of naloxone, ease of access to naloxone, routine aftercare processes, integration of treatment and recovery options, and other major elements of the local infrastructure necessary for success and creates process improvement recommendations.