Arkansas Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Programs

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 Arkansas COSSAP Project will address the opioid epidemic strategically and continue providing support to areas that have been disproportionally impacted by the abuse of illicit opioids, stimulants, and other substances, as indicated by a high rate of treatment admissions for substances other than alcohol; high rates of overdose-related deaths; and lack of accessibility to treatment and recovery services. The primary focuses of the proposed projects are comprehensive, real-time, regional information collection, analysis, and dissemination; the development of peer recovery services and treatment alternatives to incarceration; and continued Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based Program (COAP) overdose investigations involving peer recovery services and the implementation of strategies identified in the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Strategic Plan. This project serves specific counties where high rates of opioid deaths have been identified in COAP Category 2; however, the specific subrecipients for the proposed projects have not been selected. The project includes partnerships between the Department of Finance and Administration Office of Intergovernmental Services (DFA-IGS), Department Human Services, Office of State Drug Director, and the Single State Authority, in addition to a new partnership between DFA-IGS and the Arkansas Coroners’ Association.

CA/NCF