Madison County COSSAP Initiative

ABSTRACT The Madison County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is applying to the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site Based Program, Category 1b: Local Applications, Subcategory 1b for funding in the amount of $1,255,465.93 for the “Madison County COSSAP Initiative”. Madison County is located in western Tennessee approximately an hour northeast of Memphis and an estimated 104,000 citizens. Madison County is home to the City of Jackson which is the county’s major residential area compared to the rest of the county’s more rural communities. Recent statistics indicate a worsening substance abuse problem in Madison County that presents challenges for the Sheriff’s Office and local treatment providers in general and especially due to a sharp rise in overdoses attributable to opioid and methamphetamine abuse. The purpose of the project is to identify and address the needs of those with substance abuse disorders, generally, and opioid abuse disorders, especially, in Madison County by implementing the following allowable use activities: 1) Real-time data collection (15%); 2) Naloxone for law enforcement and first responders (5%); 3) Education and prevention programs to connect law enforcement agencies with K-12 students (5%); 4) Pre-booking or post-booking treatment alternative-to-incarceration programs (25%); 5) Court programming to prioritize and expedite treatment and recovery services for individuals at high risk for overdose (25%); 6) Evidencebased substance use disorder treatment related to opioids, stimulants, and other illicit drugs, such as MAT, as well as harm reduction activities and recovery support services (10%); 7) peer recovery support services (5%); and 8) Embedding social workers, peers, and/or persons with lived experience at any intercept of the Sequential Intercept Model (10%). Priority considerations addressed in this application include racial equity/underserved groups 1A (see pp. 9, 17) and a research partnership (see pp. 13-14, 19-20). A research team consisting of Dr. Wes Jennings (University of Mississippi) and Drs. J. Mitchell Miller and Brenda Vose (University of North Florida) will serve as the program evaluators for the proposed initiative. This proposal includes a comprehensive mixed-methods process and outcome evaluation incorporating both qualitative and quantitative research techniques designed to determine adherence to evidence-based practice, programmatic fidelity, and specify outcome effectiveness. The proposed project will infuse sorely needed resources into communities increasingly impacted by the ongoing national opioid crisis and provide examples of data collection, treatment services delivery, and evaluation steps to inform intervention initiatives in other criminal justice and public health settings.