Baltimore City Health Department Among Organizations to Receive Opioid-Fighting Federal Grant Through UB's Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement
November 29, 2018
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
Twelve programs—including the Baltimore City Health Department—located across 10 states will receive grant support in new efforts to combat the nation's opioid epidemic. In a collaborative effort between the University of Baltimore's Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the program, known as Combating Opioid Overdose through Community-level Intervention Initiative (COOCLI), will deliver a total of nearly $3 million toward innovative, community-based initiatives.
The Baltimore Health Department will receive $262,500 to engage in these efforts, through its Family Resilience Project: Supporting Children and Youth Impacted by the Opioid Epidemic. The grant will allow the department to undertake a four-part project to address the city's opioid epidemic:
- Work with referral agencies (including law enforcement) to identify youth and children at-risk of developing an opioid use disorder due to traumatic experiences related to the opioid epidemic;
- Provide trauma-informed behavioral health screenings with the intention of connecting children and youth victims to clinical treatment;
- Offer enrollment to community-based organizations that provide traditional and non-traditional alternative therapies to support the healing of children and youth impacted by the opioid epidemic and;
- Provide wrap-around support via existing and new staff at the Baltimore City health department including naloxone training, and access to community organizations providing food, healthcare, and transportation access.
According to the ONDCP, the agency, the University of Baltimore, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) selected 12 programs "in areas of the United States that have experienced high levels of opioid and illicit drug abuse" to receive grants.
"It's critical we continue to invest in local initiatives that provide on-the-ground services to people battling drug addiction," said James Carroll, deputy director of the White House ONDCP. "These grants will boost prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts across the country and will support law enforcement as they work to stop the flow of illicit drugs into their neighborhoods. Most importantly, these resources are going to the communities that have been hit the hardest by widespread drug and opioid abuse."
The projects, which will be overseen by the University of Baltimore, "will employ a range of approaches such as 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."
In addition to the Baltimore City Health Department, funding will go to these 11 other organizations:
- MetroHealth Systems Campus of Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
$262,500 for "Expanding Access to Medication Assisted Treatment in the Cuyahoga County Corrections Center" - George Mason University, Va.
$190,874 for "Combating Opioid Overdose through a Peer Recovery Collaboration between Probation and Public Health" - Prevention Point Philadelphia, Pa.
$112,500 for "It Takes Capital; Growing Provider Treatment Capital and Individual Recovery Capital to Develop Community Based Approaches to Reducing Substance Use" - Health Research, Inc., N.Y.
$262,500 for "Public Safety Overdose Response Initiative" - The Addiction Center of Broome County, Inc., N.Y.
$262,500 for "The Peer Response Initiative" - Monroe County Sheriff's Office, N.Y.
$262,500 for "Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Medication Assisted Treatment Program" - Ledge Light Health District/Special District Government, Conn.
$262,500 for "New London County Coordinated Access, Resources, Engagement and Support" - Baylor College of Medicine, Tex.
$260,693 for "A Medicaid Managed Care Approach to Addressing and Preventing Opioid Abuse in Perinatal Populations" - University of Memphis School of Public Health, Tenn.
$262,500 for "Effectiveness of Community-Based Outreach and Integrated Medication-Assisted Treatment and Psychosocial Intervention for Opioid Use Disorder in Appalachian Counties in Tennessee" - NC Harm Reduction Coalition, N.C.
$262,500 for "Strengthening Overdose Prevention Efforts in Rural Areas Through Participant- Driven Innovation" - Berkeley County Schools, W.V.
$251,477 for "The Martinsburg Initiative Reducing Likelihood of Substance Use/Abuse by Reducing and Mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences for Children"
Learn more about the University of Baltimore's Center for Drug Policy and Enforcement, part of UB's College of Public Affairs.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.