Justice Department awards more than $333 million to fight opioid crisis

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs today announced awards of more than $333 million to help communities affected by the opioid crisis. Nearly $6.1 million will help public safety and public health professionals in the Southern District of Ohio combat substance abuse and respond effectively to overdoses.

With more than 130 people dying from opioid-related overdoses every day, the Department of Justice has made fighting addiction to opioids—including heroin and fentanyl—a national priority. The Trump Administration is providing critical funding for a wide range of activities—from preventive services and comprehensive treatment to recovery assistance, forensic science services and research—to help save lives and break the cycle of addiction and crime.

“The opioid epidemic has ravaged countless communities and tragically shattered too many lives. While we have seen some progress, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorneys’ community remain fully committed to working with our state and local partners to combat this complex and evolving challenge,” said U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers. “The awards announced today support an array of activities designed to reduce the harm inflicted by these dangerous drugs.”

DeVillers explained the grants will help law enforcement officers, emergency responders and treatment professionals coordinate their response to overdoses. Funds will also provide services for children and youth affected by the crisis and will support the nationwide network of drug and treatment courts. Other awards will address prescription drug abuse, expand the capacity of forensic labs and support opioid-related research.

The following awards were made to organizations in the Southern District of Ohio:

BJA’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based Program, which provides financial and technical assistance to state, local and tribal jurisdictions to reduce opioid abuse and fatalities, and mitigate impacts on crime victims.

Authorized by the 2016 Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, this program offers grant awards across three focus areas.

Category 1 is designed to encourage and support the development of comprehensive, locally driven responses to the opioid epidemic 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 non-violent drug offenders; promote education and prevention activities; and address the needs of children impacted by the opioid epidemic. All projects are expected to involve multiple agencies and partners. These awards include:

Category 3 awards may be used to establish or enhance a prescription drug monitoring system; facilitate the exchange of information and collection of data on prescriptions and other scheduled chemical products among states; develop a training program for system users; produce and disseminate educational materials; support collaborations between law enforcement, prosecutors, public health officials, treatment providers and drug courts; facilitate electronic information sharing among states in compliance with the Prescription Monitoring Information Exchange National Architecture; expand monitoring to Schedules II, III, IV and V; improve the quality and accuracy of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program data; develop or enhance the capacity to provide unsolicited reports of controlled substance prescribing to authorized individuals or entities; and assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the PDMP program or specific PDMP initiatives. These awards include:

BJA’s Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program, which provides financial and technical assistance to facilitate collaborations between criminal justice, mental health and substance abuse treatment systems to serve individuals with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse issues.

Office for Victims of Crime’s Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims. This program expands programs to provide services to children and youth who are victimized as a result of the opioid crisis.

BJA’s Adult Drug Court and Veterans Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program, which provides financial and technical assistance to states, state courts, local courts, units of local government and tribal governments to develop, implement and enhance drug courts and Veterans Treatment Courts.

Category 2 includes enhancement of fully operational drug courts that incorporate the evidence-based principles included in the National Association of Drug Court Professionals’ Adult Drug Courts Best Practice Standards.

OJJDP’s Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Program awarded grants to provide resources to state, local and tribal governments to create and enhance juvenile drug treatment court programs for youth in the justice system who have substance abuse issues, with a specific focus on opioid abuse.

NIJ Strengthening the Medical Examiner-Coroner System Program, which addresses the extreme shortage of board-certified forensic pathologists in the United States and aims to improve medical examiner-coroner services by supporting efforts toward agency accreditation.

Information about the programs and awards announced today is available here. For more information about OJP awards, visit the OJP Awards Data webpage.

The Office of Justice Programs, directed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan, provides federal leadership, grants, training and technical assistance, and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, assist victims and enhance the rule of law by strengthening the criminal and juvenile justice systems. More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.

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