Community-Engaged Research Resource Center (CERRC): An A.C.T.I.O.N. Framework (Assess, Collaborate, Technical assistance, Implement, Optimize, Nurture) - Substance use remains a public health emergency, with drug overdoses claiming a life in the U.S. every five minutes. Despite the existence of proven substance use treatment and recovery services, there are persistent barriers to access, participation, and retention, particularly among individuals involved in the criminal legal system. Substance use disorders are disproportionately prevalent in this population, and the criminal legal system accounts for over one-third of all substance use treatment referrals. However, barriers severely hinder access to effective care. Attempting to address this, the Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN) is the most significant federal initiative to date, focused on bringing together researchers and community leaders to strengthen efforts in addressing substance use specifically within the criminal legal system. This proposed project outlines a Community Engaged Research Resource Center (CERRC) to support JCOIN’s efforts. It brings together a team with expertise in substance use and criminal legal system research, as well as direct and indirect lived experience with substance use and the criminal legal system. The team also has extensive experience in community-based participatory research (CBPR) and meaningful collaboration with people with lived experience. Guided by the Cultural Exchange Model, this CERRC aims to engage people with lived experience, build capacity for greater inclusion of their voices across all levels and positions in the research enterprise, and develop resources to enhance community-engaged research. At the core of the proposed CERRC is the A.C.T.I.O.N. framework, which organizes the CERRC’s ten interrelated activities into six domains that span across the CERRC’s aims to support JCOIN and advance the field. The domains include: Assess (activities: assess and target meaningful engagement and conduct needs assessments with each JCOIN Hub); Collaborate (activities: build a community board and coordinate a CERRC feedback team to serve the CERRC and JCOIN); Technical assistance (activities: provide tailored technical assistance for Hub leadership, as well as for people with lived experience engaged across JCOIN); Implement (activities: conduct a patient journey mapping study and three other rapid turnaround research projects); Optimize (activities: create public-facing knowledge translations, including spotlight webinars, microlearning videos, products, and a resource repository); and Nurture (activities: facilitate learning collaboratives and a mentor panel). The A.C.T.I.O.N. framework ensures that all efforts reinforce one another to create a cohesive and impactful approach. This CERRC, led by a multidisciplinary team with complementary academic and lived expertise, is poised to generate transformative, community-driven solutions that enhance outcomes from the JCOIN network for those most impacted by substance use and criminal legal system involvement.
