Sonoma County and Delaware arrived at prevention from almost opposite directions: one delivering universal Tier 1 prevention countywide, the other offering targeted Tier 2 and 3 intervention to students already identified as at risk. Different institutions. Different scales. Different starting points — and one program that met them both exactly where they were.
Two places, one pattern
Sonoma County
231.4%
growth in IMPACT licenses in use across the county, 2023–2025
Sonoma County
+58%
rise in student confidence helping a friend struggling with substance use
Delaware
43%
shift in students’ beliefs about marijuana’s addictive potential, at one school
Sonoma County
35%
shift in beliefs about opioids/fentanyl’s addictive potential, same school
Two starting points: a county’s vision, a state’s program
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County’s Department of Health Services (DHS) built its approach around a simple principle: invest upstream, before risk factors escalate, rather than respond only after problems emerge. DHS tracked youth health trends through the California Healthy Kids Survey and set out to find one comprehensive curriculum that could reach middle and high schoolers consistently across the county’s many districts — and their families too.
“Supporting our youth by empowering them with the information they need to make healthy choices is essential.”
Will Gayowski, Substance Use Disorders and Recovery Services Section Manager, Sonoma County DHS
Delaware
Two thousand five hundred miles east, the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) chose a different path: a statewide mission “to empower every learner with the highest quality education,” carried out through its Substance Use Prevention & Intervention (SUPI) for Delaware Schools Program. The DOE brings IMPACT to schools as part of its Tier 2 and 3 track — targeted support for students who need more than a single universal lesson.
−30%
11th graders’ perceived risk of marijuana use, over a decade
−24%
their perceived risk of binge drinking
Source: Delaware School Survey.
Different playbooks, same underlying belief: reach students with real information, and they make safer choices.
The shared solution: IMPACT
Both DHS and the DOE partnered with Panaptic to bring IMPACT, an evidence-informed, community-based curriculum, into their classrooms. The rollouts looked different. The reasons behind them did not.
Built to reach every classroom
Online, standalone courses any school staff can deliver — no original curriculum to build, no prevention expertise required. In Sonoma County, that meant a curriculum any of the county’s diverse districts could adopt without adding to teachers’ workload.
“Some school staff think they will have to create their own materials to launch IMPACT and are visibly relieved when they learn that these already exist.” — Peg Enslen
A whole community, not just a classroom
Family/Guardian and Educator courses sit alongside the Student courses. In Sonoma County, the Family course’s Spanish translation helped it reach the county’s large Hispanic and Latino population.
In Delaware, the Educator course gave staff a shared vocabulary: “All staff who take the course see what it’s about and start to use a common language. That’s huge.”
Grounded in evidence
Both leaders chose IMPACT because it’s built on prevention science, not tradition — and both value the data it returns.
“There is a strong foundation in statistical analysis in the IMPACT program outcomes.” — Will Gayowski “The schools’ annual IMPACT data is a great resource. It makes me feel so much better seeing the results.” — Peg Enslen
Proven at scale · 3,946 middle and high schoolers tracked, 2018–2026
Most one-time attitude-change interventions produce only a small effect (Albarracín & Shavitt,
Annual Review of Psychology, 2018). IMPACT students’ gains went well beyond that benchmark:
6.5x
perceived addictive potential of cannabis
6.4x
confidence understanding cannabis’s effects on brain development
6.2x
confidence helping a peer with cannabis-related problems — a bystander outcome few curricula measure
4.3x
perceived addictive potential of alcohol
3.5x
perceived addictive potential of opioids/fentanyl
Multiples of the standard for meaningful prevention outcomes.
Backed by real partnership
Ask either leader what actually made the difference, and neither one leads with the curriculum.
“DHS has an effective established working relationship with the Panaptic team that has been reliable, impactful, and shown that they can scale up or down in accordance with community needs and preferences.”
Will Gayowski, Sonoma County DHS
“A huge benefit is the partnership that Panaptic offers with IMPACT. Their team has never ever told us they’re too busy. They’re available at every turn to support each school.”
Peg Enslen, Delaware DOE Prevention Specialist
The results: two places, one pattern
Sonoma County: countywide momentum
The clearest sign of success is how fast schools asked for more. When Panaptic launched new Alcohol and Opioids/Fentanyl courses in 2025, DHS brought them to Sonoma County schools right away.
Delaware: one school, a clear signal
At one Delaware school, the annual report showed the same kind of movement — and not just in the Marijuana course. Students rated all three courses “very helpful.”
231.4%
growth in licenses in use, 2023–2025
+58%
confidence helping a friend struggling with substance use
+54%
understanding how marijuana and alcohol affect brain development
+50%
confidence using fentanyl test strips and Narcan to help a friend
80%+
rated IMPACT at least “helpful” for understanding effects on mental health, wellness, academics, and brain function
Matt Marshall, M.Ed., retired Director of Student Services, Cotati-Rohnert Park USD
43%
Marijuana course — shift in beliefs about addictive potential “I liked the in-depth explanations, especially about vaping.”
43%
Alcohol course — shift in beliefs about addictive potential “I liked learning the ways that alcohol actually affects your brain.”
35%
Opioids/Fentanyl course — shift in beliefs about addictive potential “This class taught me not to do opioids. I didn’t know about how risky it is to try them.”
A county that grew its licenses by 231% in two years. A school where nearly half of students shifted their beliefs about addiction after a single course. The metrics differ because the institutions differ. The pattern underneath does not: wherever prevention meets students where they are, with real information delivered well, it works.
“I like how they answered many questions I didn’t even know I had! They tell you so much helpful information. I am now more able to make healthy choices for myself.”
— A Sonoma County student
Whatever your starting point, start here.
Universal Tier 1 prevention or targeted Tier 2 and 3 support — we’ll show you how IMPACT fits your program, your schools, and your reporting.
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Panaptic provides a compassionate, engaging, and evidence-based substance use prevention curriculum that shifts perspectives in your community.