Vision, Mission, History

Vision
Wisconsin youth are healthy, thriving & engaged citizens.

Mission
To support & enhance the capacity of coalitions in their prevention & positive youth development efforts.

History of Alliance for Wisconsin Youth
1988 marked the historic beginning of the Alliance for a Drug Free Wisconsin. The top three elected officers of the State of Wisconsin, Governor Tommy Thompson, Attorney General Don Hanaway and Superintendent Bert Grover “joined together to demonstrate commitment and cooperation, at the highest level, in our continuing war on drugs” (Thompson,1989).

Existing local prevention coalitions throughout Wisconsin joined the Alliance and the Alliance for a Drug Free Wisconsin state staff assisted in developing new coalitions in areas where none existed.

In 1999, the Alliance changed its name to the “Alliance for Wisconsin Youth,” when it merged Wisconsin’s Promise into the Alliance for a Drug Free Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s Promise grew from the challenge of America’s Promise to ensure that every young person has a caring adult, a healthy start, marketable skills, safe places after school, and opportunities to serve. With this merger, the Alliance’s mission expanded to include these Five Promises in addition to continuing the focus of preventing substance abuse and related behavioral health issues facing youth.

Since 2004, promoting the use of the Strategic Prevention Framework and evidence-based policies, programs and practices has been central to the work of the Alliance’s educational and funding efforts with local Alliances. The Strategic Prevention Framework includes assessment, capacity-building, planning, implementation, evaluation, cultural competency and sustainability.

In 2006, over 100 local alliances in over 60 Wisconsin counties and tribes are members of the Alliance for Wisconsin Youth. The focus of Alliance activities remains focused on preventing substance abuse and related youth problems and promoting core developmental supports and opportunities for Wisconsin’s youth and on; references to the five promises were removed in 2006.

The connection between substance abuse prevention and positive youth development remains strong in Alliance work both at the state and local levels. See prevention/positive youth development for a more information about the interdependent nature of prevention and youth development work within the Alliance for Wisconsin Youth.

From 2004-2007, daily coordination of Alliance activities was contracted by the Department of Health and Family Services/Bureau of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (DHFS/BMHSAS) to Wisconsin Positive Youth Development Initiative, Inc. The Alliance Director Greg Levenick is located at DHFS/BMHSAS.  In mid-2007, the Alliance restructured into five regional centers in order to focus more precisely on substance abuse prevention outcomes.

Alliance Directors:
Tedd O’Connell 1988-1988
Donna Bestor 1989-1995
Claude Gilmore 1996-2003
Greg Levenick 2003-present
_______________________
Thompson, T. G., (1989, January 25). State of the State Address. Retrieved February 8, 2007 from http://www.mu.edu/library/collections/archives/DC/TGT/collection/documents/StateofStateAddress25jan1989.pdf