As many of you learned at the California AOD Education Conference in Chico, The Network is reviewing its direction both at the national and local levels. The Executive Committee is undertaking a one-on-one conversation with each State/Territory Coordinator, seeking ways that the national organization of volunteers can assist state-level initiatives. Since I am also on the Executive Committee, I am part of this process from both ends: STC and ExComm member.
What I can report so far is that California is significantly behind the times when it comes to state-level coordination of college AOD prevention. Other states have centers or other centralized offices that facilitate training, communication and evaluation. Models vary by state, but the goal is the same: keep campuses moving forward with evidence-based prevention and allow them to collectively work for environmental change.
In California, we have the CSU sponsored AOD Education Conference, the RADD California Coalition, and The Network CA website. While these are great (humbly said) resources, they do not have the reach, scope or mandate that a California Higher Education Center would have if modeled after other states.
Therefore, I am going to be pushing through every available channel to move our state towards some form of centralized coordination of college AOD prevention programming resources. How, when and in what form this idea comes to pass is still an open question. I'm open to all levels of help and inspiration from any of you. Contact me with ideas and stay tuned for more information.
