Funds target local opioid addiction intervention

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has earmarked $4.5 million in grants to aid efforts to address the opioid crisis on the local level.

“Since day one, the Trump Administration’s whole-of-government approach has aimed to accomplish one overarching goal: prevent our friends, family members, and neighbors from dying of a drug overdose,” ONDCP Director Jim Carroll said. “To meet this challenge, we must invest in innovative programs that share the same mission in every corner of our country. The grants will provide resources to both increase research and foster collaboration between law enforcement and public health agencies, which is so critical to reversing the pattern of addiction.”

Fourteen programs throughout the nation were selected by the ONDCP, the University of Baltimore, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to receive Combating Opioid Overdose through Community-Level Intervention (COOCLI) grants.

The initiatives include identifying individuals most at risk of overdosing, supporting medication-assisted treatment in jails, collaborating with public safety agencies, and connecting high-risk pregnant and postpartum women and their children to opioid use disorder care coordination services.

“Local communities are at the forefront in this fight to end the opioid overdose crisis,” CDC Director Robert Redfield said. “CDC is committed to strengthening their capacity to work collaboratively with partners to develop innovative, community-based programs that save lives and help families recover.”