Houston's FY18 Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-Based Program

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 First Responders Partnerships category is to support multidisciplinary opioid response partnerships that include, at a minimum, a law enforcement/first responder component.

Houston, Texas, will create the Houston Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP). The proposed Houston COAP program represents a partnership among the Houston Police Department, the Houston Recovery Center, and the Houston Fire Emergency Medical Service. Funding has been secured to build an interface for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) records to contribute patient data into Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP). The University of Texas Health Science Center will serve as the proposed research partner.

CA/NCF