FY 20 COSSAP Program

The Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) was developed as part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) legislation. COSSAP’s purpose is to provide financial and technical assistance to states, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments to develop, implement, or expand comprehensive efforts to identify, respond to, treat, and support those impacted by illicit opioids, stimulants, and other drugs of abuse.

The objective of Category 1 is to encourage and support the development of comprehensive, locally driven responses to opioids, stimulants, and other substances that expand access to supervision, treatment, and recovery support services across the criminal justice system; support law enforcement and other first responder diversion programs for nonviolent drug offenders; promote education and prevention activities; and address the needs of children impacted by substance abuse.

The Town of East Bridgewater is applying for Category 1a urban area grant funding in the amount of $1,200,000. Plymouth County Outreach (PCO) will enhance the current PCO model in three ways: (1) creating a reentry support system for those returning from the Plymouth County House of Corrections with identified substance use disorders; (2) developing hotspot-targeted outreach to areas experiencing disproportionately high overdose rates; (3) expanding the harm-reduction toolkit distributed during post-overdose home visits to include items related to opioids and stimulants, including naloxone. This project serves Plymouth County, which has a population of 521,202. The project includes partnerships between 27 municipal police departments in Plymouth County, as well as the Bridgewater State University Police Department, Plymouth County District Attorney and Sheriff’s offices, as well as all local hospitals and treatment facilities. Priority considerations addressed in this application include a high rate of overdose deaths in a persistent poverty area.

NCA/NCF