Project REACH (Re-Entry Addiction Care & Healing) - Abstract Project REACH (Re-Entry Addiction Care & Healing) will expand treatment and related recovery and reentry services to improve abstinence (Goal 1) and social determinants of health/SDOH (Goal 2) and reduce recidivism (Goal 3) among 855 sentenced diverse adults (19-86% Black; 8-80% White and 1-9% of Hispanic ethnicity/varies by jail) over a 5-year period in 3 jails in the rural counties of Franklin, Gadsden, and Wakulla in the Florida Panhandle. Our catchment area has suffered many cumulative adversities: ►One of the largest marine oil spills in history, (BP Oil 2010); ► Hurricane Michael (2018) one of only four Category 5 hurricanes to ever strike the US destroying many behavioral health and social service programs, draining the workforce and exacerbating service gaps; and ► the catastrophic effects of the COVID pandemic. All contributed to significant SDOH disparities, especially related to employment, safe housing, social connectedness, and health/behavioral health. A survey in the Franklin County jail found that 93% of the sentenced adults had a mild, moderate, or severe SUD and 30% had multiple severe SUDs. Moderate to severe stimulant and opioid diagnoses have a strong association with recidivism. The current state of FL rate of incarceration per 1000 population is 2.4% but averages 4.3% in our targeted 3 counties, 79% higher than the state rate (FDC Jan 2023). While stimulant use is more common in the Panhandle than opioids, 8-weeks before we began writing this proposal the FL Panhandle made the national news with a drug bust that netted enough fentanyl to kill 800,000 people (12.19.22 FDLE). As the Project REACH applicant, Northwest Florida (NWF) Health Network will leverage significant staff and funding resources to benefit this project. We are a 501C(3) organization that serves as one of the only Network Management agencies in the country with single and direct responsibility for substance use and mental health services and child protection (child welfare). NWF will leverage 3 existing jail-based Outreach/In-reach Workers to implement the evidence-based CAAPE-5 assessment instrument to identify eligible participants to enroll in Project REACH. After a subsequent warm handoff to the 3 Project REACH Certified Recovery Peer Specialists (CRPS- hereafter called Peers), participants will receive evidence-based Peer Recovery services and the Changing Course Interactive Journaling EBP to identify and mitigate areas that might be problematic and to create person-centered treatment and recovery planning post-release. The Peers will work with a Housing Specialist and Network Coordinator and link participants to a DISC Village, a local SU/COD treatment and recovery organization with 50 years of BH experience with the population of focus. Their comprehensive evidence-based services (MI, CBT, Seeking Safety, MAT, and Tele-behavioral health) across most ASAM levels of care are also leveraged at no cost to this grant to meet the unique needs of each participant. Our project will contract with Solutions Of Substance Associates (SOS), with more than 20 years of federal grant performance assessment experience, to assist with performance measurement.
