Morris County Prevention IS Key, Inc.

Morris County Prevention IS Key, Inc., operating as Prevention IS Key, is a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization that delivers substance abuse prevention, youth risk reduction, and community capacity-building programming to federal health agencies as a direct grant recipient and sub-recipient under federal substance abuse and mental health programs. The organization operates primarily in a sub-recipient role (67% of recent awards) through the New Jersey Department of Human Services, with direct prime grant awards from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Prevention IS Key's capability portfolio centers on evidence-based youth prevention programming, family engagement, community coalition building, and opioid overdose recovery services. As a prime recipient, the organization holds a $425,000 SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention grant (CFDA 93.492, awarded September 30, 2026) to implement the Morris County Prevention and Resilience Initiative, a five-year project delivering Boys Council and Girls Circle youth programs, Strengthening Families Program enhancements, and the SAMHSA Talk. They Hear You. Campaign through countywide multimedia outlets across billboards, digital media, school-based dissemination, and community outreach. The initiative targets youth under age 21 and parents and caregivers in Morris County's 524,000-resident population, with prioritization for youth at elevated risk due to early substance use initiation, justice system involvement, adverse childhood experiences, and limited parental monitoring. As a sub-recipient under New Jersey Department of Human Services pass-through grants, Prevention IS Key manages multiple federally funded programs including Community Peer Recovery Centers across Morris, Essex, and Passaic counties; State Opioid Response grant-funded opioid overdose recovery programs; and substance abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery services funded through COVID ARPA SABG and other federal vehicles. The organization also operates under a second SAMHSA prime grant (CFDA 93.959, awarded September 30, 2023, completing September 29, 2027) to enhance the Jefferson Township Youth Coalition's work on underage drinking prevention among youth aged 12–20 through social and traditional media awareness campaigns, annual youth summits, adverse childhood experiences (ACE) trainings, and LGBTQ+-focused mental health awareness.

The organization's federal funding is heavily concentrated in health and human services. SAMHSA (both the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and broader HHS SAMHSA divisions) accounts for the majority of the 46 total awards in the source, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention representing smaller but consistent supplementary funding. All work is performed in New Jersey, primarily in Morris County and neighboring Essex and Passaic counties. Activity has grown from single awards in 2022 to twelve annual awards in both 2024 and 2025, with only one award reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, indicating a stable multi-year funding profile through 2027 and beyond. The organization's $15.2 million in combined obligated dollars across the source window reflects a modest but sustained federal presence anchored to regional substance abuse prevention and recovery infrastructure.