Over the course of Recovery Month in September, COSSAP posted more than 50 original pieces of content to a dedicated web page on the COSSAP Resource Center website. None of them, however, better captured what recovery means than the COSSAP Champions of Recovery video messages. Viewed together, the 27 Champions messages turn the abstract concept of recovery into something tangible: a story that is told 27 different ways but ultimately describes its subjects’ common journey away from isolation and shame and stigma and toward support, purpose, and reintegration into their communities. View all 27 Champions and read about 6 in particular in “That’s the Way Recovery Works: One Person in Recovery Helping Another”—Champions Share Journeys From Isolation to Connection and Far Beyond.
 

Both resolute and realistic, Community Justice Services (CJS) in Boulder County, Colorado, draws on persistence and partnerships to get the job done: creating a safer community by supporting the recovery and reentry process, ending the cycle of incarceration, and reducing crime and recidivism. To learn how funding from COSSAP and its predecessor program enabled CJS to enhance collaborations with a host of partners to provide evidence-based treatment services, peer recovery support services, and pre- and post-booking treatment alternatives to incarceration, read The Evolution of Boulder County, Colorado’s Project Readiness, Engagement, Navigation, Treatment, and Recovery (RENTR).
 

Altarum, COSSAP’s training and technical assistance provider for peer recovery support services, highlights one of its 2022–2023 mentor sites for the Peer Recovery Support Services Mentoring Initiative (PRSSMI), The Arming Minorities Against Addiction & Disease (AMAAD) Institute in South Los Angeles, California. PRSSMI supports program-to-program learning among organizations that are implementing peer recovery support services (PRSS) for justice-involved populations. To get the full story about AMAAD’s stellar work in support of PRSS, read The AMAAD Institute Shines as Peer Mentor Site in South Los Angeles.

The South Carolina Bureau of EMS and Trauma (EMS Bureau) has been actively engaged in combatting the opioid epidemic for years. Following earlier naloxone-related initiatives such as Law Enforcement Officer Narcan (LEON) and the Reducing Opioid Loss of Life (ROLL) program for firefighters, the EMS Bureau developed the Community Outreach Paramedic Education (COPE) program in 2019. COPE’s goal is to visit an overdose survivor during the critical window for intervention following an overdose event; COPE teams also meet with family or friends of the overdose survivor to help connect them to support. The goal is to promote recovery by providing harm reduction strategies and getting individuals with substance use disorders into treatment. Read more in More Than Naloxone: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Combats Substance Use Disorder in South Carolina.
 

The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Training and Technical Assistance Center (PDMP TTAC) released its latest podcast, Future of PDMPs, in September. In it, PDMP administrators from Kentucky and Nebraska discussed innovation within PDMPs, expanding the scope of drug information being collected, data quality and standards adoption, and much more. The previous month, the Recommendations for Best Practices on Dispenser Compliance and Data Integrity guide was updated to address techniques and policies that PDMPs may wish to consider as they strive to provide quality prescription information to their authorized users. For the full story on both resources, read Podcast on Future of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, Best Practice Updates Lead PDMP Highlights.

Between January 19 and 20, 2023, join your peers for the 2023 National Forum on Overdose Fatality Review (OFR) in Washington, DC, to learn how to enhance your OFR teams. This 1½-day in-person convening will highlight how OFRs are identifying and implementing recommendations to prevent substance-related deaths in communities across the country. The forum will offer a mix of general-interest plenary sessions, moderated panel discussions, breakout sessions, and informal networking opportunities. Individuals and jurisdictions at any level of experience are invited to attend.

Click here for more information.
 

This BJA-sponsored monograph continues a long-standing tradition of providing a detailed profile of the treatment court field within the United States. It also provides a summary of the most recent scholarly literature on treatment courts. Summaries include an overview of the history and structure, best practice standards, guiding principles, effectiveness and cost-benefit findings, and directions for future research.

Click here for links to the report.
 

COSSAP’s Facebook and Twitter pages are the first line of real-time notification about new COSSAP publications regarding innovative strategies being employed by COSSAP grantees and others, as well as current funding opportunities and upcoming events. The pages are updated weekly with grantee success stories, helpful articles, and content shared by BJA and other federal agencies, as well as by COSSAP training and technical assistance providers. Catching Up With COSSAP readers are invited to follow both accounts and to share posts with their own followers. 

DEA Gears Up for National Prescription Drug
Take Back Day
October 26, 2022—U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
The Drug Enforcement Administration will host its 23rd National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, October 29, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. This event offers anonymous disposal of unneeded medications at more than 4,000 local drop-off locations nationwide.

DEA and its partners will collect tablets, capsules, patches, and other forms of prescription drugs. Collection sites will not accept syringes, sharps, and illicit drugs. Beyond DEA’s Take Back Day, there are also opportunities to regularly and safely dispose of unneeded medications at close to 15,000 prescription disposal locations.  

RxCheck Hub Receives Award 
October 21, 2022—Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
The BJA-supported RxCheck hub received a 2022 Best Implementation of NIEM (National Information Exchange Model) award. Each year, the Best of NIEM Award recognizes NIEM implementation projects demonstrating noteworthy contributions to the use, growth, and adoption of NIEM. The RxCheck hub provides states with the ability to participate in the nationwide Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). 

Increased Use of Telehealth for OUD Services During COVID-19 Pandemic Associated With Reduced
Risk of Overdose
August 31, 2022—National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
The expansion of telehealth services during the
COVID-19 pandemic was associated with individuals staying in treatment longer and reducing their risk of medically treated overdose, according to a new study. 

Don’t forget: The COSSAP Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program stands ready to support you—grantee or not! An easy online process matches your request with a TTA provider (or team of providers) with the right mix of expertise. The TTA services are provided to requestors free of charge. Learn more here; jump right to the TTA request form here.