Virginia SOR Prevention Services Evaluation

The prevention components of the SOR grant are designed to decrease opioid, prescription, and over-the-counter drug misuse and overdoses through the implementation of an array of evidence-based prevention strategies, including community mobilization and coalition capacity-building, community awareness and media messaging, community educational opportunities (e.g., mental health and adverse childhood experiences), safe storage and disposal, behavioral health wellness initiatives, and behavioral health equity for high-risk populations.

These prevention efforts engage thousands of coalition representatives,community members, and partners across the state, including schools, universities, first responders, faith-based organizations, local lawenforcement, and agencies serving veterans and high-risk populations, to strengthen community readiness, expand awareness and prevention messaging, and enable equitable access to prevention resources. Public education efforts funded through the SOR grant reach millions of community members across the state through targeted media campaigns, social marketing, community events and presentations,and trainings such as Mental Health First Aid, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), suicide prevention, and REVIVE! (naloxone administration and distribution). Prevention strategies also include reducing access to opioids, prescriptions,and over-the-counter drugs through the distribution of safe storage/disposal resources and practices, including lockboxes, smart pill bottles, deactivation kits, prescription bags with safe storage messaging, permanent drug drop boxes, and drug take-back events.

Data collection and evaluation are integral to SOR prevention, ensuring strategies are implemented with fidelity and responsive tocommunity needs. Through the prevention evaluation component of the SOR grant, Omni supports CSBs across the state in developing and maintaining evaluation plans that guide the collection, management, and reporting of process and outcome data through the state’s Prevention Performance-Based System (PBPS). Omni supports these efforts through targeted training and technical assistance to build evaluation capacity, while providing ongoing support for accurate data entry and data quality review.

Together, we have positioned Virginia as a national leader in addressing and preventing opioid and stimulant use disorders—demonstrating how SOR funding, when paired with rigorous evaluation and intentional capacity-building, can create meaningful, system-level change.

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