I am delighted to support the State Incentive Grant (SIG) award for North Carolina from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention known as the Next Steps for Youth Initiative.

The prevention of substance abuse among our youth is a critical issue that I intend to continue to address and welcome the opportunity to take the steps needed to support this initiative.

As a SIG state, the initiative has used the majority of the funds to encourage local organizations and agencies to implement the types of programs that have proven to be effective for substance abuse prevention. I am pleased that the initiative has developed a comprehensive strategic plan that involves community stakeholders, and is working on identify-ing funding streams for substance abuse prevention. I look forward to the evalu-ation of these programs and the report that will highlight what programs work for North Carolina youth, families, and communities.

I will continue to lend my support to this effort, and congratulate all of you for the tremendous work you do in making services available to our citizens. I thank you personally for the work you will produce to take us to the future steps needed to prevent substance abuse in our state.