The Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP) awarded two years of funding to five schools in four school districts to support the hiring of two Prevention Recovery Coordinators in each school.
The Watson Chapel, Fayetteville, Hot Springs and Springdale school districts (grades K – 8 and secondary) each received between $256,000 and $303,000 from ARORP.
The funding amounts to a total investment of $1,453,491.75 for the Prevention Recovery Education Program (PREP) to sustain the PRCs’ salary and fringe benefits, training costs and program materials.
The PRCs will be hired by each district before July 2026 to lead efforts to prevent drug misuse, address family trauma and respond to the ongoing impacts of the opioid epidemic among youths, according to a news release.
“Prevention today requires more than telling children to say ‘no’ to drugs and sending them on their way,” said Tenesha Barnes, deputy director of ARORP. “It involves providing them with facts and fostering environments where they feel safe to talk about substance misuse, mental health and pressures they face day-to-day. Placing trained professionals in schools to do just that is an approach to combating drug misuse that makes a tremendous difference, and this program is an important step in that work.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The role of a PRC includes the following:
— Deliver evidence-based programs and services to students and families affected by opioids and other drugs.
— Collaborate closely with School Resource Officers (SRO) and school counselors to ensure comprehensive investigative responses and supportive services for youth and their families.
— Partner with educators and community stakeholders to educate students, families and civic organizations about the opioid epidemic through a comprehensive prevention program.
— Provide confidential, individualized meetings with students to offer support, guidance and resources related to drug and opioid challenges.
— Assess and coordinate necessary aftercare services in partnership with school administration.
— Develop and strengthen a Substance Abuse Prevention coalition focusing on opioids within the schools.
ARORP held a check presentation ceremony event April 2 to honor the selected districts. In attendance alongside Barnes were state leaders Jerri Clark, School Health Services Director for the Arkansas Department of Education’s (ADE) Division of Elementary and Secondary Education; Kirk Lane, director of ARORP; Amy Mellick-Wetzel, president of Prevention Professionals of Arkansas (PPA); Anthony Tidwell, prevention specialist for the Hot Springs School District’s Prevention Recovery Program; and representatives from each district. Details: ARORP.org.