Family and community factors contribute to substance abuse. Family and community solutions are necessary to prevent substance abuse. A special issue of the Journal of Primary Prevention (Kaftarian & Kumpfer, in press) sponsored by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) addresses effective family interventions and some of the possible ways to bridge the gap between family-focused research and practice. The present special issue, again sponsored by CSAP/ SAMHSA/DHHS, focuses on effective community interventions and some of the ways that community-focused prevention research can be linked with community-focused prevention practice. The lessons learned and strategies proposed are relevant to all areas of community-based prevention and public health.
In the past decade, community-based prevention strategies and programs have been supported by the CSAP, which is the lead Federal Government organization for substance abuse prevention, and several other Federal and non-Federal agencies and organizations. The Community Partnership and Community Coalition Prevention Grant programs, as well as the current State Incentive Grant Program, funded by CSAP, are good examples of community-based prevention approaches. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Fighting Back program, as well as the Safe and Drug-Free Communities grant program sponsored by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Department of Justice are other very good examples of community-based prevention. In fact, more than 4,300 community coalitions across the country have united to initiate the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), an organization which advocates comprehensive and community-wide approaches to substance abuse and related problems.
However, despite this apparent widespread acceptance of community-focused substance abuse prevention, there is still a large gap between the research-based knowledge