West Virginia FY 2020 COSSAP

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 2 is to support states in their efforts to implement or enhance, in a minimum of six geographically diverse counties, localities, or regions, activities to: 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 Justice and Community Services (JCS) Section of the West Virginia Division of Administrative Services (DAS), which is the State Administrative Agency for criminal justice-related activities in the state, is applying under Category 2 for grant funding in the amount of $6,000,000 under the FY 2020 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program (COSSAP) grant program. The purpose of the project is two-fold. First, the project will expand the West Virginia Prevention Resource Officer (PRO) Program to the following 18 counties: Boone, Gilmer, Grant, Marion, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Summers, Tucker, Tyler, Wayne, Webster and Wirt. The total population of these counties is 387,465. PRO Officers funded through this project will focus on the provision of substance abuse education and prevention services. Second, the project will establish a cutting-edge approach to pre-arrest diversion by integrating quick response teams, LEAD, and the West Virginia Angel Initiative (Angel) to establish the WV QLA Early Intervention Program. This program will be implemented into the following nine counties: Berkeley, Cabell, Kanawha, McDowell, Mercer, Monongalia, Raleigh, Wood, and Wyoming. The total population of these counties is 763,728 and accounts for 61 percent of the overdose fatalities within West Virginia. JCS has partnered with the West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy and West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Bureau of Behavioral Health in the implementation, monitoring, oversight, and sustainment of the proposed project.

CA/NCF