What is CPWI?
Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative
CPWI is a re-designed funding approach to prevention services in Washington State. The CPWI format is one of the most innovative state-funded prevention programs in the United States. In 2011, funding was reorganized to prioritize services in the highest need communities and to create community coalitions for prevention. CPWI is completely community focused, with a coalition of volunteers being trained on prevention issues, creating and carrying out their own action plan, and analyzing local data to decide what the local priorities are. The community-focused approach allows us to:
- Focus efforts and leverage resources;
- Build on and replicate what works;
- Measure outcomes; and
- See a deeper impact in communities.
How do we know prevention works?
Over 60 prevention programs and policies have been shown through rigorous research to prevent substance use problems. An evaluation by Washington State University shows that CPWI is meeting its goals: 95% of programs implemented between July 2015 and June 2016 had positive results in delaying the first use of alcohol or other drugs, reducing use, decreasing risk factors, and/or increasing protective factors. Between 2011 and 2016, communities in Cohort 1 showed improvements in all family and community risk factors. Evaluation results also showed significant decreases in 10th-grade substance use outcomes:
- Alcohol use and binge drinking - down 42%
- Cigarette use - down 49%
- Marijuana use - down 11%