Policymakers and community leaders play an important role in addressing opioids in our communities. This page highlights the most recently added resources specifically targeting elected and appointed government officials and staff members, members of the law enforcement community and first responders, and employees and volunteers of organizations. These resources, identified with orange tiles, include policy roadmaps, implementation guides, toolkits, education materials, sample legislation and other materials that can help you design and implement effective programs to prevent and address the consequences of opioid crisis.
If you’d like to submit materials for inclusion consideration or suggest a future featured topic, please visit CLOUD’s call for submissions page.
A report on the opioid crisis in the Appalachia region of the United States. The report describes the disproportionate impact opioid misuse and overdose has had on the region, and provides proven strategies for local action based on case study reports. Recommendations are made for enhancing leadership, prevention, recovery, rehabilitation for justice-involved individuals, and economic development.
A 2-page summary of the report “Opioids in Appalachia” that briefly summarizes the disproportionate impact of the opioid crisis in Appalachia and lists the recommended strategies for local action.
A review of studies on barriers or facilitators to use of medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD) from the Veteran’s Health Administrations Evidence Synthesis Program. The use of MAT to treat OUD is an evidence-based practice that is often not implemented in real world settings.
A report from a 12 state learning collaborative on improving treatment of opioid use disorder among pregnant and parenting women and infants exposed to opioids. The report focuses on the strategies states used to expand access to and coordination of services, improve education and training for providers, use data to monitor and evaluate initiatives, enhance medical coverage and reimbursement policies, and address ethical, legal, and social considerations such as stigma.
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) programs are collaborations between law enforcement, mental health professionals, and mental health advocates that work to improve community responses to mental health crises. This implementation guide from CIT International outlines the steps community leaders can take to design, implement and sustain CIT programs in their communities.
A report on innovative community programs to address prevention, treatment, and recovery from opioid use disorder and other addictions in the state of West Virginia. Part of the Innovations to Address Addiction series of reports from Addiction Policy Forum.
A brief overview of the Moyer Foundation’s Camp Mariposa, a national addiction prevention and mentoring program for youth who have been impacted by substance misuse in their families. Launched in 2007 in Seattle, Camp Mariposa now operates in more than 12 locations across the country, providing services to children ages 9 to 12. Part of the Addiction Policy Forum’s Spotlight series which highlights innovative programs to address the opioid crisis.
A brief overview of the Alano Club of Portland’s Recovery Toolkit Series (RTS), an innovative, evidence-based and holistic program for persons in recovery from an SUD. RTS is a free, year-long program of evidence-based workshops, seminars and classes that provide education about addiction and instruction in therapeutic tools such as mindfulness-based stress reduction and trauma informed yoga. The Alano Club also hosts a diverse program of mutual support groups with more than 125 meetings held each week including 12-step and non-12 step groups. This report is part of the Addiction Policy Forum’s spotlight series.
A brief overview of the Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) model for serving families with active child protective services (CPS) cases and parental substance misuse. The START model pairs a CPS caseworker with a family mentor who has lived experience with recovery and CPS system and the 2 engage the family in a sustained strengths based approach. START teams have limited case loads of 12 to 15 families. Research has shown that families who receive START services as opposed to usual care in the CPS system were more likely to achieve abstinence, children were less likely to be placed in state custody, and the state saves money in foster care costs. This report is part of the Addiction Policy Forum’s spotlight series.
First Lady of North Dakota Kathryn Helgaas Burgum created Recovery Reinvented to end the shame and stigma that often accompanies people in recovery from addiction. As a person in long term recovery herself, she saw the need to empower people to seek help by openly talking about addiction and reality of recovery. Recovery Reinvented holds events in North Dakota with the goal of ending shame and stigma and creating recovery supportive communities. This report is part of the Addiction Policy Forum’s Spotlight series which highlights innovative programs to address the opioid crisis.