Policy and Practice | August 2022

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By Karen Snyder

Moving Forward Together: Education, Early Intervention, and Prevention Services Save Lives

G rowing up, my grandmother always told me to be kind to people as you never knowwhat a person may be going through and howmuch a smile or a kind word could help someone. Little did I know that I would dedicate my career to health and human services, working to make positive impacts on the lives of people and families facing adversity. One thing I have learned is that prevention services and activities come in many shapes and forms—from a smile and kind word to evidence-based practices and programs, delivered by states, counties, schools, or community-based organizations. Our world continues to evolve. There are more than 400,000 children living in foster care. More than 5.9 million individuals are unemployed; and more than half a million individuals are homeless. Individuals and families continue to change and face adversity, and as a society we have a respon sibility to adjust and meet people where they are. We need to speak to the unique needs of individuals and families that make up today’s world. As leaders, we must continu ally review our systems’ foundations and frameworks to determine the need to refocus, reshape, or rebuild. We need to relentlessly pursue a deep understanding of the barriers that prevent individuals from realizing their full potential; and tap into the ideas and experiences of families and human services professionals. Moving forward, we must keep in mind lessons learned over the years and re-empha sized through the COVID-19 pandemic: 1. Education plays a key role in prevention

few. Health and human services orga nizations, including community-based organizations and religious groups, inform the public of programs and services available to individuals and families. These programs and services can, ultimately, prevent significant stress, homelessness, substance use, and even child abuse. Early intervention can prevent more severe consequences. During COVID 19, interventions such as wearing masks and social distancing were imple mented to prevent or slow the spread of the disease. Providing an intervention and interceding for an individual with a substance use disorder can prevent an overdose and lifealtering impacts. We have witnessed the success of a variety of early intervention programs, such

2. Early intervention can prevent more severe consequences 3. Prevention services and activities save lives Education plays a key role in pre vention . Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we continually learned new information and adjusted our practices and protocols accordingly. Education has always played a key role in prevention. For years, health prac titioners have shared the impacts of poor eating habits and lack of exercise, promoting healthy choices and thereby preventing a variety of illnesses and prolonging life. Public health officials have implemented a variety of vaccine programs through the years, including the Vaccines for Children’s program, influenza, pneumococcal, hepatitis, chickenpox, and shingles, to name a

See Moving Forward on page 28

Illustration by Chris Campbell

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Policy&Practice August 2022