History: In 1998 a proposal for a statewide resource office/coordinator was submitted to the Board of Regents Office. The duties and responsibilities of the resource office/state coordinator were proposed to provide additional resource assistance and coordination, promote networking, stimulate new strategies, and give support to individual campuses. This coordination would result in enhanced campus based efforts and more efficient use of time and local resources. Six distinct functions were identified for this service: 1) a full-time director, clerical support, and graduate assistantships, 2) office space & equipment, 3) technological support, 4) budget (to include travel for training & consulting), 5) support for the Georgia Network Training Institute (GNTI), 6) support for Georgia Network Advisory Board activities, and 6) support for grant & proposal writing. The Board of Regents was unable to fund the statewide office at that time but contributed their support by co-sponsoring the GNTI for a couple of years.

Current: In 2004 a second proposal was written and submitted to the Georgia Department of Human Resources to create a statewide office for substance abuse prevention in higher education. This contract was awarded in July 2005 and ended to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. The University of Georgia agreed to provide office space for this important endeavor and the Georgia Network Office for Substance Abuse Prevention in Higher Education began in the fall of 2005 and ended March 31, 2006. The contract stipulated that the Georgia Network Office was to provide capacity and capacity building services for the development of a statewide prevention effort for the college community in Georgia. The initial task was to complete a statewide needs assessment. The more extensive goals are listed below.

Goals:

1. Serve as the statewide entity for the development of prevention services and programs for higher education as the primary contact for the state.
2. Serve as the liaison with: the Georgia DHR, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases (MHDDAD); The Network: Addressing Collegiate Alcohol & Other Drug Issues; the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center, and all Georgia institutions of higher education.
3. Increase membership and participation in the Georgia Network.
4. Disseminate The Network Standards at conferences and meetings to encourage campuses to adopt them as a guide for their prevention programs.
5. Gain a better understanding of the current ATOD problems in the 18-25 year age group through conducting a statewide needs assessment.
6. Serve as a training and information resource for environmental strategies, community coalitions, policy development and Biennial Review preparation.
7. Provide evidenced based alcohol and other drug prevention programs and information to college and university personnel in the state of Georgia.
8. Create and foster environments where information exchange can occur.

The Georgia Network will continue to pursue these goals while seeking new funding.