Award Information
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2022, $1,300,000)
Winnebago County Health Department (WCHD) is requesting $1,300,000 under Category 1b. These funds will leverage existing coalition work, create best practices in prevention, and address the county’s increasing number of overdose deaths. The Winnebago County Overdose Fatality Review (WC-OFR) team has been a platform for community change to address system issues; yet, the number of overdoses continues to rise. While partners recognize the benefits of the work, there is an identified need to increase the level of response and improve the collected metrics.
The proposed project addresses the following allowable uses for Category 1b funds:
Real-time data collection (15.15% budget)
WCHD will contract with Jennifer Skolaski, PhD to continue regular WC-OFR monthly reviews to: 1) collect overdose data; 2) understand aggregate data trends; 3) report findings to the WC-OFR governing committees; 4) build collaborative partnerships throughout the community to drive coordinated action related to substance use; 5) increase capacity for the implementation of current and new WC-OFR recommendations to continue addressing the main purpose of OFRs, to prevent overdose deaths. In addition, WCHD will contract with Andrea Gromoske, PhD who will evaluate the current state of the work and impact in the community through data analysis, utilization of the CDC Overdose Data2Action Evaluation tool, and provide data to COSSAP to help drive future action.
Embedding social workers, peers, and/or persons with lived experience at any intercept of the Sequential Intercept Model (20.28% budget)
WC-OFR will address the grief and needs of next-of-kin by connecting them to support services and conducting next-of-kin interviews to better understand the circumstances that led to an overdose death and to prevent future overdoses. This program will be contracted to the Coroner's Office.
Law enforcement and first responder deflection and diversion; and peer recovery support services (52.81% budget)
Contract with Solutions Recovery, Inc. as a subawardee to implement a WC-OFR recommended, data-driven rapid response program that is being created in summer 2022 for full launch in fall 2022, and to create sustainability of the program over three years.
Through this COSSAP funding, Winnebago County will have the expanded resources to implement recommendations and changes driven by data that holistically affect individuals and families who have been overlooked, forgotten, and left on their own to change their lives. Creating a new person-centered customer service model of care, support, navigation, and hope will change the trajectory of overdose deaths in Winnebago County.