Tuesday, October 3, 2023
10/3/2023
Ohio’s State Opioid Response Project will achieve an integrated behavioral health system by increasing access to evidenced based prevention, early intervention, treatment, and recovery services. Innovative strategies to meet complex social needs are essential for long-term recovery of the target population, youth and adults diagnosed with an opioid, stimulant use or misuse disorder, and co-occurring mental illnesses. The geographic area for this project is state of Ohio with the goal of serving 20,000 Ohioans. The devastating and potential lasting effects of substance use across the lifespan continues to strain our families, ravage our communities, and threaten the well-being of our entire state. Substance use has major impacts creating multi-generational effects on children and adults mental, emotional and behavioral development.1 Family, community, and too often, older adults caring for children of substance use disordered parents are the unseen victims. While opioids are still cause for concern, current trends on the increased use of methamphetamines, marijuana and illicit drugs illuminate the spread of a drug problem that cannot be ignored2. The COVID 19 pandemic amplified the importance of addressing basic needs as modifiable risk factors which underpin mental and emotional as well as physical health. Addressing “complex social needs”, as well as, basic needs for food, safety, and housing require vision and leadership with the skills to work collectively to improve and change the way we serve the target population of this SOR 2.0 grant. Increasing access to interventions including Naloxone, Medication Assisted Treatments (MAT) are critical tools in our toolkit, communities must now begin addressing the “modifiable risk factors” and “complex social needs” of the target and special populations, such as preventing adverse childhood experiences, trauma, homelessness and substandard housing, unemployment, lack of education and job training, food scarcity, and isolation. SOR 2.0 will expand upon the proven success strategies of evidence-based treatment, by providing services to 20,000 Ohioans with treatment, MAT and recovery supports, but will aim higher to build and engage local and regional community partnerships in the places where we are all born, live, work, play. Essential community level partnerships are needed to scale-up supports Ohioans need to thrive across the lifespan. To be successful, regional partnerships must modernize approaches to sustain engagement and be inclusive of diverse partners such as community based, faith based and recovery community organizations, education and job training programs, public and supported recovery housing entities, public health including federally qualified health centers & behavioral health and social programs in addition to child welfare, early onset drug prevention programs that are youth-led and family and peer supported. 1 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. The State of Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health of Children and Youth in the United States: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25739. 2 OSAM Report
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).
