Wisconsin prevention committee pushes for faster YRBS data, eyes opioid‑settlement support for DPI capacity

A public commenter and prevention partners asked the SCIOTA Prevention Committee on Jan. — during the meeting’s public comment period — to endorse a circulated letter urging faster distribution of Youth Risk Behavior Survey results and offering partnership to speed data access.

Emma Kane, executive director of Community Action for Healthy Living in Appleton, said a letter is circulating to document “the ramifications of the delays” and to invite organizations to sign on and offer help. “About 30 folks have signed on,” Kane said during public comment, adding she would email a PDF of the letter and a Google form to collect sign‑ons and logos.

The committee discussed the YRBS request alongside a separate agenda item on input to the state’s opioid‑settlement planning. Several members recommended that settlement funds be used to increase the Department of Public Instruction’s capacity to administer, analyze and distribute YRBS data so local prevention efforts have timely, usable information.

Why it matters: YRBS is the state’s primary source of comparable data on adolescent substance use and related behaviors. Committee members said stronger DPI capacity would help local coalitions and schools track trends and target prevention efforts.

What members said - Emily Holder, student services prevention and wellness team at the Department of Public Instruction, described DPI’s YRBS work and noted limited staff capacity for administration and analysis. Holder and other members said DPI would welcome support to expand that capacity. - Maureen Buzalaki, director of alcohol policy prevention and research at the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Injury Center, and others stressed prevention’s relationship to longer‑term substance‑use outcomes and urged that some settlement funding be routed to prevention activities and data capacity rather than only treatment or remediation.

Data cited at the meeting: a participant who reviewed the 2023 YRBS results said 30% of high‑school girls and 22% of high‑school boys in Wisconsin were current drinkers, an average of about 26% overall, and noted troubling increases in binge and high‑intensity drinking among young people.

Committee process and next steps: Members agreed to collect written recommendations for the state’s opioid‑settlement plan. DHS staff said the public input form is open through Feb. 28 and asked members to forward suggested uses of settlement funds; the committee indicated it would submit recommendations by that deadline, including the proposal to fund DPI capacity for YRBS administration and analysis.

Ending: Committee organizers said they will circulate the draft letter and the Google sign‑on form to members, and staff will compile the committee’s settlement recommendations for the full council’s review.