This training has a pre-requisite!

Completion of the 5-hour HealtheKnowledge.org online course, “Introduction to Substance Abuse Prevention: Understanding the Basics (Pre-SAPST Course),” is required prior to the training. Course certificates of completion must be emailed to Susan at spomerleau@adeptme.org before the start of training. This course is linked HERE. 

Training Description

The SPF Application for Prevention Success Training (SAPST) blends a pre-requisite, self-paced online course with four full days of live training. Grounded in current research and SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF), the SAPST provides foundational knowledge and skills necessary to implement effective, data-driven prevention interventions that improve substance-related outcomes, reduce behavioral health disparities, and improve wellness.

What does the SAPST prepare practitioners to do?

• Address substance misuse prevention in the context of behavioral health
• Improve practice by developing a comprehensive approach to prevention guided by SAMHSA’s Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF)
• Reduce behavioral health disparities by identifying the needs of vulnerable populations and improving cultural proficiency
• Sustain prevention by collaborating effectively across sectors to address shared risk and protective factors and improve the health and well-being of communities in a cohesive way

What does the SAPST cover?

Introduction to Substance Abuse Prevention: Understanding the Basics (HealtheKnowledge.org Pre-SAPST online course)

• Basic terminology and facts
• History of substance use and prevention in the U.S.
• Substances and the brain
• Effects and health risks of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs

Setting the Foundation: From Theory to Practice

• Behavioral health
• Spectrum of Behavioral Health Services
• Public health approach
• Risk and protective factors
• Developmental perspective

Application: SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework

• Assessment, capacity building, planning, implementation, and evaluation
• Health disparities
• Cultural competency, sustainability

*This training is using newly updated (Feb 2026) SAPST material.

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Who Should Participate

This curriculum is designed for entry-level (i.e. less than 5 years experience) substance misuse prevention practitioners working at the community, tribal, jurisdiction, and state-level substance misuse prevention practitioners and allied health partners.

Certificate of Attendance

Participants will receive two certificates for training hours:

1) 5 hours upon completion of the online course prior to registration
2) 26 hours upon completion of the live, 4-day training

Participants must attend the full 26-hour virtual training to receive a certificate. No partial credit will be given.

^{The IC&RC Prevention Committee has endorsed the SAPST as an IC&RC-approved curriculum. This endorsement provides assurance that the SAPST is applicable to IC&RC's prevention specialist domains and can be used toward the education/training requirement for IC&RC's Prevention Specialist credential. The SAPST has also been approved by NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals.}

^{Prepared by the New England PTTC supported with supplemental funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Award No. 1H79SP084326-01. This publication was prepared by the New England PTTC under a cooperative agreement from SAMHSA.}

^{All materials appearing in this publication, except that taken directly from copyrighted sources, are in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA or the authors. Citation of the source is appreciated. Do not reproduce or distribute this publication for a fee without specific, written authorization from the New England PTTC. For more information on obtaining copies of this publication, call 207-626-3615.}

^{The opinions expressed herein are the view of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the DHHS, SAMHSA. No official support or endorsement of DHHS, SAMHSA, for the opinions described in this document is intended or should be inferred.}

^{Published by the New England PTTC at ADEPT Educational Institute of Maine, Inc.}