OAA previews Abatement Academy session on substance-use education and prevention for children

The Opioid Abatement Authority announced a forthcoming Abatement Academy webinar focused on substance-use education and prevention for children and invited local officials and stakeholders to register. "The next academy, topic that is available if you're interested in joining us will occur, next week on Thursday the 20 fourth," said Tony McDowell, executive director of the Opioid Abatement Authority. He said the session will include presentations from the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, the Attorney General’s office and Virginia Tech Extension, which have received OAA funding to expand prevention programs for children across the state. McDowell said the session will provide an overview of state efforts, tools available for cities and counties, and an update on where education and prevention programs stand. He directed listeners to the OAA website to register and view other upcoming Abatement Academy topics. The webinars are free and intended to help local governments and stakeholders identify best practices for responding to the opioid crisis. This announcement was made during the same webinar in which the OAA demonstrated its new public dashboard. No funding or policy decisions were made during the announcement; the webinar was described as informational and part of the OAA’s regular outreach series.