Community Connections, Inc., 215 South Walker Street, Princeton, WV 24740

Community Connections, Inc., 215 South Walker Street, Princeton, WV 24740 – (304) 913-4956

Partnerships for Success: Prevention Specialist Job Description

Title of Position: Prevention Specialist

Counties to be Covered:      Fayette, Nicolas, Webster, & Pocahontas Counties

Description of Duties & Responsibilities:

• Obtain, understand, and use national, state, regional, and county-level data to inform the strategic prevention framework and culturally appropriate, evidence-based interventions.
• Strengthen partnerships with colleges to prevent underage drinking, intravenous drug use, and marijuana use of high-risk students ages 17-20.
• Strengthen partnerships with child-serving agencies, schools, and behavioral health providers to prevent underage drinking, intravenous drug use, and marijuana use of high-risk students ages 9-20.
• With key stakeholders (e.g. law enforcement, schools, physicians, families, and youth) plan, implement, and sustain effective, culturally appropriate, evidence-based prevention practices and policies to address underage drinking, marijuana use, and intravenous drug use among youth ages 9-20.
• Promote and provide for the evolution of positive alternatives for the targeted population with a focus on youth/young adult engagement and leadership throughout the region.
• Mobilize and build capacity within communities throughout the region to prevent underage drinking, intravenous drug use, and marijuana use of high-risk students ages 9-20 through networking, technical assistance, other appropriate engagement strategies, and planning models that promote and empower neighborhoods, community groups, schools, agencies, and other entities to address local and regional issues. This will include becoming familiar with prevention efforts that are being provided within the region in all communities served and remaining current on all efforts supporting their development and implementation, as allowable within the scope of funding.
• Become familiar and collaborate with community behavioral health resources and services to support cross-system planning and programming, as well as service connections for those high-risk students needing to access various levels of care.
• Implement prevention strategies that improve community norms through environmental change.
• Conduct prevention activities such as evidence-based programming (EBPs) in schools, communities, and child-serving agencies.
• Within 90 days of hire, or as trainings are available, complete the Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training (SAPT); Prevention Ethics; Strategic Prevention Framework; Positive Community Norms; Cultural Competency; Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Tuberculosis (TB); and Hepatitis. Documentation must be maintained on-file for all and a written waiver must be obtained from BHHF is any training component cannot be completed within the period set forth.
• Within 6 months of grant award, staff funded by this grant must receive and complete trainings: motivational interviewing; suicide prevention; trauma-informed care; Mental Health First Aid; and substance use disorder basics with specific focus on Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT). Documentation must be maintained on-file for all completed trainings.
• Participate and actively contribute to community, regional, and statewide planning efforts to assess continually and remain current on needs related to substance use and misuse ensuring that efforts are coordinated with BHHF and all regions.
• Collect community data and resources to share with stakeholders, partners, BHHF, and Statewide Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW). Efforts should include promoting participation in and sharing by schools of the School Climate Survey or related surveys for strategic prevention planning.
• Ensure a continual focus on building community, school, and child-serving agency capacity to address targeted prevention needs. Activities should include maintaining a readily available staff and other resource capacity to lead or support such efforts, consistent communication with relevant organizations, and active efforts to engage communities, schools, child-serving agencies, behavioral health providers, and other groups. All efforts must be comprehensively documented.
• Ensure that evidence-based practice and model-learning is always occurring and emphasized within the scope of evolving prevention planning and implementation.
• Ensure that focus is given to evolving the existence of, promotion of, and participation by high-risk students in communities and regions in substance use prevention activities promotion healthy living and well-being with a focus on youth engagement and leadership development. Efforts must include:
• Close collaboration with county-based coalitions who may lead and/or coordinate such events or opportunities.
• Development of a women’s network in collaboration with local/regional treatment and recovery partners that meets regularly with emphasis on girls or women who are substance-involved, pregnant, or post-partum.
• Coordination, participation, and promotion of county youth-led prevention teams to increase youth and adult partnerships that promote peer education, leadership, and mentoring.
• Remain knowledgeable regarding prevention efforts being developed and/or provided within the region by creating a written plan of work supported through financial or other means, and as allowable within the scope of funding. Activities include but are not limited to: regular participation on the PFS Advisory Workgroup; Statewide Epidemiological Outcomes Workgroup (SEOW); Regional Data & Planning Teams; Prevention Lead Organization (PLO) meetings; technical assistance provided by Marshall University; and other trainings and meetings organized by BHHF.
• Obtain community, school, child-serving agency, and youth feedback for services rendered and information received to measure program effectiveness and improve service delivery.
• Identify existing data gaps and develop data collection plans, as appropriate.
• Within 30 days of hire, develop written work plans outlining information dissemination and public awareness initiatives addressing the nature and scope of underage drinking, intravenous drug use, and marijuana use of high-risk students ages 9-20, as well as the public health impact within communities and the region.
• Annually, complete Strategic Prevention Framework-Partnerships for Success (SPF-PFS) strategic planning and learning processes to build capacity in the region, enhance infrastructure, and implement a comprehensive prevention approach in the region’s communities, schools, and child-serving agencies for effective and high-quality, evidence-based prevention services for high-risk students. Written strategic plans should be kept on-file and shared with State stakeholders annually.
• Submit all data as related to the Expected Outcomes/Performance Measures as directed by BHHF.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications Required for the Position: Minimum qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in psychology, sociology, human resources, mental health, social work, or other human services field and two years’ experience in planning, developing, or implementing substance abuse prevention programs. Experience with Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) preferred.

Supervisory Requirements: N/A

Skills and Knowledge Required for the Position:

• Good knowledge of the nature of substance abuse and the techniques used in establishing effective prevention programs.
• Good knowledge of community coalition principles and partnership development.
• Ability to plan, organize, implement, coordinate, and evaluate prevention programs.
• Ability to develop and maintain effective working relationships with individuals, schools, community-based organizations, businesses, faith-based organizations, and other local agencies.
• Ability to comprehend and follow federal grant guidelines.
• Ability to communicate effectively, work independently, and use computer applications.

Amount of Travel: Local, statewide, and regional occasionally required.

Salary: Dependent upon experience; Full-time position; 40 hours/week.

Contact: Greg Puckett, Executive Director, Community Connections, Inc. (304) 913-4956. Please e-mail cover letter and resume to: drugfree@strongcommunities.org and reference “PFS Prevention Specialist” in the subject line.