Wichita State's Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR) recently was awarded a $700,000 contract from the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) to coordinate and support a statewide network for behavioral health prevention and promotion. The annual award is renewable for up to five years.

Through this contract, CCSR will work in close collaboration with WSU training and technology teams and with multiple state partners to design, implement and support an effective prevention system infrastructure across the state -- interacting with dozens of agencies and thousands of individuals every year.

The initiative will take a comprehensive approach to behavioral health prevention and promotion. CCSR and its partners will be supporting local community coalitions, helping implement evidence-based practices, creating toolkits for local implementation, using technology to increase interaction across communities and coordinating and supporting a statewide prevention system infrastructure.

CCSR Executive Director Scott Wituk sees the contract as a major building block in the center's development. "A contract and partnership like this one propels us (CCSR) into new areas of innovation and development," said Wituk. "CCSR's recognized strengths in leadership development, community collaboration and research/evaluation will be tapped, but this initiative presents entirely new opportunities for the future. Fortunately our move to WSU Old Town will provide additional space, including office space for new staff and likely an additional five to 10 student positions."

The first year of this contract will focus on planning and development efforts with KDADS and other partners, with a greater emphasis placed on program implementation in future years.

Randy Johnson, director of behavioral health initiative at CCSR, describes the project as "a unique opportunity to reach across the full state and deliver a positive message and real, practical tools and support in service to the recovery and resiliency of Kansans."