Probation Opioid Response Initiative

The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) Program is the first major federal substance use disorder treatment and recovery legislation in 40 years and the most comprehensive effort to address the opioid epidemic. CARA establishes a comprehensive, coordinated, and balanced strategy through enhanced grant programs that expand prevention and education efforts while also promoting treatment and recovery. The Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based program was developed as part of the CARA legislation signed into law on July 22, 2016.

The Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based Program aims to reduce opioid abuse and the number of overdose fatalities, as well as to mitigate the impacts on crime victims. The program also supports the implementation, enhancement, and proactive use of prescription drug monitoring programs to support clinical decision making and prevent the abuse and diversion of controlled substances.

The System-level Diversion Projects category projects must demonstrate a commitment to establish effective diversion programs for offenders who abuse illicit or prescription opioids. Projects may support pretrial diversion, court-based diversion programs (other than drug courts or Veterans treatment courts), community-based supervision, corrections programs, and/or reentry programs.

The Erie County Probation Department will implement the Probation Opioid Response Initiative. The focus of this effort will be to expand services to offenders diverted to probation. The program will institute the use of a validated risk assessment tool to identify probationers who are at risk for opiate/opioid overdose and place them on specialized caseloads. Two peer navigators will be assigned to work alongside probation officers. Naloxone will be distributed to probationers on the opioid caseload at assignment and to probationers who overdose within 24–48 hours after notification. Hilbert College will serve as the research partner for the proposed project.

CA/NCF