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Clay County prevention program credits students for sharp drop in vaping, substance use
Summary
Jason McCoy told the Clay County Board that a five‑year 'positive community norms' grant at DGF schools coincided with large drops in self‑reported student vaping (from ~24% to ~5%), alcohol (23% to 8%) and cannabis use (12% to 5%), and that student leadership and local partnerships will sustain the work after grant funding ends.
Jason McCoy, a Clay County public health prevention specialist, presented results of a five‑year grant project to the Board of Commissioners, saying the county ‘‘did it’’ by using a positive‑community‑norms approach to reduce student substance use. McCoy said vaping rates at DGF high school fell from roughly 24 percent to about 5 percent and that countywide high‑school vaping averages are now about 9 percent. He also reported drops in past‑30‑day alcohol use (from about 23 percent to 8 percent) and cannabis use (from about 12 percent to 5 percent).
McCoy credited student leadership, citing growth in a school RISE club from 13 to 43 high‑school participants and additional middle‑school engagement. He said the work emphasized strengths—‘‘instead of asking what was wrong with us, we started asking what was strong with us’’—and noted national attention is developing, with a journalist preparing a feature. McCoy said that, when the grant ended June 30, his time will be funded 0.8 FTE from foundational public health responsibilities and 0.2 FTE from a substance‑use prevention grant, allowing continuation of policy work and outreach.
Commissioners praised the community approach and sought more detail on scaling and outcomes. Commissioner Kravanoff (speaker label in the record) called the work ‘‘incredible’’ from a grandparent’s perspective and asked that staff present the same material to area school boards and city councils; McCoy said he already had presented to the school board and was scheduled for city presentations. Board members asked for program enrollment trends and impact data; McCoy and staff said they can share the surveys and data the program used, including Minnesota student surveys that track perceived community support and disapproval rates.
The board did not take any formal action on McCoy’s presentation. The next steps described were continued program reporting to the board and sharing the program materials with local school and municipal leaders.
