Rice County Comprehensive Longitudinal Efforts Addressing Narcotic Use Proliferation (CLEANUP)

Purpose: The Comprehensive Longitudinal Efforts Addressing Narcotic Use Proliferation (CLEANUP) will address illicit substance use in Rice County, MN. It will reduce overdose deaths; promote public safety; and support access to treatment, recovery, and harm reduction in the community and justice system. A multidisciplinary coordinating body (the Rice County Opioid Council) will support law enforcement and justice systems to intervene earlier using deflection and diversion to shift efforts from punishment to restorative practices. Through the Recovery Support Team, the project will support access to treatment, housing, basic needs, peer recovery support and culturally/linguistically-appropriate services to improve outcomes for those struggling with substance use disorder, prioritizing Latine and East African communities.

Primary activities & associated budget:

Police-Assisted Recovery and Deflection (PARD) - Law enforcement deflection - 14% of budget
Pre-charge Adult Diversion (PCAD) - Pre-booking treatment alternative - 36% of budget
Recovery Support Team - Embedding persons with lived experience in the Sequential Intercept Model - 36% of budget
 Pre-/Post-Treatment housing - Transitional or recovery housing - 14% of budget

Council partners have implemented most of the remaining allowable activities. With the resources made possible by this grant, and with the support of a research partner, Rice County will have a comprehensive model that could serve as a national model for other rural communities.

Outcomes: Following national models, PARD and PCAD programs will enhance recovery outcomes, reaching at least 375 people (35% Latine & East African) over the course of the project and reduce the impact of substances on the community. Collectively, the primary activities will alleviate the need for criminal justice-involvement and will comprehensively repair the gaps in the systems of support.

Service area: Rice County, Minnesota, with a population of 67,000 people, is located 40 miles south of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Rice County has become dramatically more culturally diverse, a change that is met with lagging programmatic resources.

Project Beneficiaries: Individuals from underserved rural Rice County struggling with substance use disorder, with a focus on underserved communities, especially Latine & Somali.

The project seeks priority considerations 1(A) & 1(B); references are found on pages 14 & 18 of the narrative, respectively. CLEANUP is contracting with a local culturally-specific organization, HealthFinders Collaborative, allocating 30% ($100,000 per grant year) of the budget to employ bilingual Recovery Coordinators to support the individuals identified through the project and to help identify and remedy local system’s inequities for diverse communities.