Washington's Student Assistance Prevention and Intervention Services Program

The Student Assistance Prevention and Intervention Program (SAPISP) is a comprehensive and integrated model of school-based services that focuses on substance use prevention and other student supports in secondary schools. This program is the school-based services arm of HCA’s two-pronged Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative (CPWI) which provides community-led substance use disorder prevention program and strategies through school-based services and community coalitions across the state in communities with higher need.

The SAPISP Program supports the placement of trained Student Assistance Professionals (SAPs) in middle and high schools. The Student Assistance Professionals provide multi-tiered services including schoolwide universal prevention strategies, classroom education, support groups for at-risk youth including selective and indicated populations, youth prevention clubs, early identification and referral to services such as treatment and family support services, as well as other services for parents, caregivers, and school staff. Student Assistance Professionals also work closely with CPWI community coalition coordinators to ensure that strategies implemented at the community level complement those strategies implemented at the school level, and vice versa. Currently, the SAPISP program provides services in about 150 schools located in 100 different communities across the state.