Local nonprofit ADAPT outlines school-based prevention and mental-health programs for Bogalusa students

Rusty Forna, director of ADAPT, told the City of Bogalusa School District board that ADAPT is delivering a suite of evidence-informed prevention and behavioral-health programs to district schools at no cost to the system. Forna listed life-skills training, Catch My Breath (vaping prevention), Generation RX (prescription safety), Kids Don’t Gamble and Stack Deck (gambling prevention), Signs of Suicide, Safe Dates (healthy relationships), Coaching Boys Into Men, Talking Circles and school-based care closets with hygiene supplies.

Forna said the programs are funded and supported through the Florida Parish Human Services Authority, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and other partners; ADAPT handles grant-writing and implementation logistics. He described program design features that support impact: age-appropriate sequences, multi-year implementation and local pilot testing to tailor materials.

Citing state survey data and pilot outcomes, Forna told the board that properly implemented prevention programs have shown large relative reductions in targeted behaviors. He summarized program findings reported by implementers: a roughly 46% reduction in vaping initiation for students completing the junior-high Catch My Breath curriculum and statewide survey declines in 30-day alcohol and vaping use compared with earlier years. Forna also said Signs of Suicide implementation led to declines in self-reported suicide attempts in participating cohorts, and that ADAPT provided feedback to developers after local pilots.

Board members and staff discussed pilot implementers and recognized district personnel who ran the pilots. Forna said Southern University and local agencies participated in pilot design and data review; he described Stack Deck as a newly piloted gambling-prevention curriculum with Bogalusa participating in initial testing for statewide evaluation.

ADAPT representatives emphasized that the programs are intended to be sustained and sequenced: ‘‘When you implement life skills three consecutive years, you start seeing the huge benefits,’’ Forna said. He also described complementary school supports such as professional development, care-closet hygiene supplies for students and youth leadership opportunities through the Washington Parish Youth Coalition.

The board did not take a formal vote on program adoption or funding during the meeting; ADAPT officials asked the district to indicate whether it wanted to expand grades or frequency, which would depend on available funding. The board thanked ADAPT staff and district colleagues for the pilots and indicated staff would bring follow-up information to policy or budget discussions.