THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR ROBERT C. BYRD.

Washington, D.C…. U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., today announced that the West Virginia Prevention Resource Center (WVPRC) in Charleston will receive federal funds to aid in its mission. Byrd added $951,000 to the FY09 Omnibus Appropriations bill that recently passed the Senate.

“We all have a stake in ensuring that the promise of our state is not destroyed by alcohol and drug abuse. It is our moral obligation,” Byrd said. “Substance abuse can demolish years of effort in school or in a career, and erase whatever promising future may lie ahead. We must work hard to create awareness about this destructive problem and prevent this type of negative behavior.”

The funding Byrd secured will be used by the WVPRC to enhance its substance abuse prevention efforts. With the growing concern about substance abuse in West Virginia, WVPRC specifically would use the funding to enhance a prescription drug abuse prevention program; create a statewide workforce development program to foster stronger leadership in substance abuse activities; and develop a more targeted assessment about specific substances such as prescription drugs and adult consumption of alcohol, among others.

The results of a 2006 study on the costs of substance abuse to West Virginia are staggering. A combination of the direct and indirect financial burden to West Virginia is more than $1.8 billion per year. The direct costs alone were nearly $470 million per year. On an individual basis, the annual cost for every man, woman, and child in West Virginia is $1,100, or over $4,500 annually for a family of four.

“Substance abuse is a largely preventable problem. However, our state has not yet invested wisely in efforts to prevent these problems,” said WVPRC Director Dr. Wayne Coombs. “With the help of Senator Byrd, this funding will allow West Virginia to begin to invest in developing solutions to West Virginia’s substance abuse issues, thereby reducing the state’s financial burden while improving the lives of its citizens and its communities."

“Substance abuse is a community-wide concern that deserves a community-wide effort. The West Virginia Prevention Resource Center should be commended for their efforts to better curb drug and alcohol abuse in our state,” Byrd added.

The WVPRC currently employs approximately 34 full-time employees, which includes a network of sixteen Community Development Specialists (CDS) who live and work locally throughout West Virginia. WVPRC is an affiliate of Marshall University – administratively housed through the Marshall University Graduate College and fiscally administered by the Marshall University Research Corporation.

In addition to the funding for the West Virginia Prevention Resource Center, Byrd helped ensure assistance for several national programs that will have spillover benefits for other West Virginia programs. He assisted in obtaining federal funding for the Drug Free Communities Grant Program, the Alcohol Abuse Reduction Program, and the National Recognition Awards Program.

The funding for these nationwide programs is as follows:

§ $90 million for the Drug Free Grant Program to reduce teen drug and alcohol use in communities around the country to levels much lower than the national average;

§ $33 million for the Alcohol Abuse Reduction Program, which was authorized during Senate consideration of the No Child Left Behind bill, and allows high schools to implement alcohol prevention programs. President Bush in his last budget request to Congress recommended no money for this program; and

§ $850,000 for the National Recognition Awards Program. This Department of Education program, within the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, provides funding to further identify, evaluate, and disseminate information about innovative alcohol and drug abuse prevention and education programs at the college level. The Bush Administration also refused to fund this program in its FY09 budget submission to Congress, prompting Byrd and others to restore the funding; and

§ Byrd also included language in the bill directing $6 million to the Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). The three Appalachia HIDTA states (West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee) comprise approximately four percent of the total U.S. population, and produce some of the most potent marijuana grown in the United States and continue to be among the top marijuana producing states. This insistence of funding for the Appalachia HIDTA in the bill ensures that the efforts to eradicate this problem will not be diminished.

These efforts continue Byrd’s efforts to address the issue of drug and alcohol use and abuse among West Virginia’s citizens, particularly its youth. Byrd met with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on February 23, and discussed these concerns and indicated his willingness to work alongside the Secretary to help address this growing problem.