Franklin County Asks Their Kids to Say Yes

In 2019, the Franklin County Health Department (FCHD) took a unique approach to lowering substance use in their community that focuses on their youth. Under a Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center CDC-funded Overdose Data to Action mini-grant, FCHD launched the Just Say Yes initiative created with guidance from Iceland-based Planet Youth. Iceland has seen significant reduction in the number of its young people who use alcohol, drugs, and tobacco after employing a community approach to adolescent substance use prevention that focuses on reducing known risk factors for substance use while strengthening a broad range of parental, school, and community protective factors.