Wednesday, February 5, 2025
2/5/2025
The Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) is proposing a 4 year “Rural Set Aside” project to train Village Public Safety Officers (VPSO’s) to administer approved drugs and/or devices for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. The project will serve the City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska, and seven rural southeast Alaska Native communities in which opioid abuse is an issue, and the VPSO program has a presence. The Office of Management and Budget confirms that the City and Borough of Juneau, and these seven village areas, as being outside of any Alaska Metropolitan Statistical Area. (See Attachment 5) The overall goal of the First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Opioid Overdose Response Proposal is to increase the capacity of the VPSO program to respond to opioid overdose situations with effective emergency treatment through administration of approved drugs or devises. The First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Opioid Overdose Response Proposal is an important part of this effort. The project will serve over 25 Native individuals per year, (100 over the project period) for overdose intervention services, and 200 individuals per year, (800 over the project period) for training & community education services. The project model will: *VPSO Community training: Train and provide resources for VPSO first responders and members of other key community sectors on carrying and administering a drug or device approved or cleared under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose; *VPSO Drug Exposure Safety: Train and provide resources for first responders and members of other key community sectors on safety around fentanyl, carfentanil, and other dangerous licit and illicit drugs to protect themselves from exposure to such drugs and respond appropriately when exposure occurs; *Referral Protocols VPSO/TFYS/Tribal Court/SEARHC: Establish processes, protocols, and mechanisms for referral to appropriate treatment and recovery communities, and safety around fentanyl, carfentanil, and other dangerous licit and illicit drugs. * Village Advisory Stakeholder Team: Form an advisory council that comprised of members who are currently engaged in efforts to prevent prescription drug/opioid overdose-related deaths meets the requirements of the grant. *Clinical Support to VPSO: Collaborate with health care providers to educate them on overdose dangers, and recommend that they consider providing resources to overdose victims and families, including information on treatment and recovery. *Village and Stakeholder Education: Provide public education on any state “Good Samaritan” laws, such as those that permit bystanders to alert emergency responders to an overdose or to administer FDA approved overdose reversal drugs without fear of civil or criminal penalties.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).