O-BJA-2021 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program

Background

The opioid overdose crisis is a public health crisis with devastating consequences including increases in opioid misuse and related overdoses, as well as the rising incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome due to opioid use and misuse during pregnancy. The increase in injection drug use has also contributed to the spread of infectious diseases including HIV and hepatitis C.

Problem

In 2019, nearly 50,000 people in the United States died from opioid-involved overdoses. The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. Substance abuse problem is a public health emergency that threatens the wellbeing of individuals who abuse drugs and impacts the safety of communities and also first responders, the criminal justice system, child welfare and foster care, and behavioral health systems

Objectives

The Atlantic City Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant and Substance Abuse Program (AC COSSAP) aim is to reduce the impact of opioids, stimulants, and other substances on individuals and other communities, to reduce the number of overdose fatalities, and mitigate the impacts on crime victims by supporting comprehensive, collaborative initiatives. 

Preliminary Results

The AC COSSAP program will focus in promoting public safety and supporting access to recovery services, strengthen data collection and sharing, align and maximize resources and prevent substance use and misuse.  This grant will help us to expand our work based on the lesson learned from the Atlantic City Overdose Fatality Review. (ACOFR)

Strategy

The AC COSSAP will develop and implement a comprehensive plan to reduce the risk of overdose death and enhance treatment and recovery engagement and through the implemented Overdose Fatality Review Teams (OFRTs) to bring stakeholders together with different perspectives and different data sets to improve public health and clinical practices.

The program will benefit the AC Community to address its unique needs and respond to emerging threat that may be local in nature. The City of Atlantic City is applying to request $600,000 for 36 months from the Bureau of Justice Assistance  (BJA) to implement and operate category 1c to respond to opioids, stimulants, and other substances, to support law enforcement and diversion programs for nonviolent drug offenses, to  promote education and prevention activities  and to address the needs of children impacted by substance abuse.