Prevention

The state-level Office of Prevention & Wellness (OPW), a division of the Ohio Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), is committed to promoting evidence-based practices for the prevention of mental, emotional and behavioral health disorders and for assessment, early intervention and treatment of youth behavioral health problems, and gambling prevention and treatment for all ages.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES

The Office of Prevention and Wellness is focused on creating a service system structure that is integrated with other community service systems; utilizes evidence-based and promising practices to maximize return on investment; supports a well-trained, culturally competent workforce committed to sharing learning and best practices; and empowers individuals and communities to be solution-focused. Specifically, the goals are to utilize evidence-based and promising practices to:

• Improve access to a full continuum of behavioral health services for youth and families.
• Promote quality publicly-funded behavioral health services for youth and families.
• Foster the ability of communities and families to connect with the systems and supports they need to become communities and families of solution.

Objectives:

OPW supports policy and programming areas to achieve the objectives outlined below, using a public health approach for prevention and the system of care framework for early identification, intervention and treatment engagement.

• To Build Nurturing Environments, OPW supports policies and interventions such as: public health campaigns, consultation and environmental interventions.
• To Foster Resilience in individuals and families, OPW supports capacity building for a core set of individual and family-level interventions.
• To Empower Communities & Youth, OPW supports networks for coalitions, youth, college behavioral health and families/caregivers. These networks will utilize the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and evidence-based frameworks and interventions.
• To Multiply the Workforce, OPW supports state and regional training on emerging trends and best practice.
• To Measure Results, OPW supports evaluation and on-going data collection for assessment and outcome measurement.

Links to OhioMHAS prevention programs:

• Prevention Action Alliance
• Drug Free Safety Program
• Early Childhood Mental Health
• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
• Prevention Coalitions
• Problem Gambling
• Start Talking
• Strategic Prevention Framework
• Strong Families, Safe Communities
• Suicide Prevention
• Tobacco Cessation
• Urban Outreach Program
• Youth-led Prevention Network