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Supported by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) as part of the Opioid Affected Youth Initiative (OAYI), the OAYI Connect provides a platform for sharing important updates, stories, and resources related to addressing the impact of opioids and other substance use disorders. This newsletter will serve to raise awareness, with the express goal of informing and engaging those committed to reversing the pathway of America's substance misuse crisis while highlighting the work being done by communities across the country in support of empowering children, youth, young adults, and their families affected by addiction while fostering a sense of community among readers and inspiring action and support.
Ten sites were awarded OJJDP Opioid Affected Youth Initiative funding for the 2024 fiscal year. These sites range widely in jurisdiction size, project focus, and locale. The new grantees attended an orientation in January 2025 to discuss the role of the program manager as well as IIR as the training and technical assistance provider. The OAYI TTA team will support project teams through the planning and implementation phases of the 3-year award.
The OAYI TTA team facilitates ongoing peer-to-peer learning opportunities to broaden the
support network, strengthen capacity, and allow grantees to learn from each other.
WHAT IS A PEER EXCHANGE?
A peer exchange is a collaborative learning opportunity in which individuals or organizations share knowledge, experiences, and best practices with each other. These exchanges, facilitated by the OAYI TTA team, often involve transfer of ideas and strategies with the goal of fostering mutual learning and improvement by leveraging the collective expertise of the participants. Peer exchanges can be especially valuable in addressing complex issues by allowing participants to learn from each other's successes and challenges.
The description below highlights a recent peer-to-peer exchange between two OAYI grantees and the outcome of their exchange. Other OAYI grantees have utilized the peer exchange model to share insights on cultural activities, discuss strategies for harm reduction, engage the school system, and offer innovative approaches on successful perinatal programs in addition to the assessment of evidence-based programming. Other opportunities for peer exchanges, specific to the OAYI network of cohorts, might include strategies to integrate law enforcement into programming and services, creating an Overdose Fatality Review team, or convening a Youth Advisory Board.
OAYI PEER EXCHANGE HIGHLIGHT
● Meramec Regional Planning Commission
● The 30th Judicial District Domestic Violence-Sexual Assault Alliance, Inc.
Implementation of Evidence Based Curriculum ‒ Seeking Safety Program
Implementation of an evidence-based curriculum can be a daunting task. Communities are often challenged with ensuring that the curriculum adequately meets the needs of the youth and families served. In support of the 30th Alliance, the Meramec Planning Commission, an OAYI grantee alumnus (FY19 cohort), shared planning and implementation strategies, challenges, and barriers as well as lessons learned during multiple facilitated exchanges with the project’s coordinator. The expertise of the Planning Commission generated a number of recommendations for moving forward:
OAYI was established to support integrated and comprehensive intervention, prevention, and treatment services for youth and families who have been impacted by opioids or other substances. The YNOW Task Force was created with the understanding that the youth voice is central to sustainable system improvement and helps strengthen the responses to improving comprehensive access to substance use support.
The Task Force is a board of 14 members between the ages of 18 and 24. The purpose of the Task Force is to create collaborative opportunities and strategic partnerships among emerging leaders and key stakeholders; inform strategies for successful engagement in local communities; and empower youth to lead sustainable and actionable efforts toward stigma reduction. The mission of the Task Force is to leverage the experience of young people to redefine recovery as any positive change. Through advocacy, education, and awareness, the Task Force aims to advance evidence-based prevention and sustainable recovery efforts that are rooted in foundations of holistic approaches, reduction of stigma, and restorative justice. The Task Force understands that substance use is a complex social phenomenon that requires change, not just within individuals, but within their social systems, which frames how the Task Force engages with community stakeholders to implement restorative practices that heal communities.
BEYOND THE BOARD
The members of the YNOW Task Force are not only dedicated to shaping youth-driven solutions in the fight against the opioid and substance use crisis but are also making incredible strides in their professional pursuits and driving actionable changes in their communities. Some of the recent successes that exemplify the power of youth leadership in action are highlighted below.
DANIE, a member of the 2024 cohort, was recently accepted into the College of Law and Public Service at the University of La Verne, where she will pursue her law degree with a focus on dependency law. Passionate about advocating for youth at the intersection of the juvenile justice and foster care systems, Danie is committed to using her legal expertise to protect vulnerable youth and improve system outcomes. She will also continue her work in public policy, further strengthening her role as a changemaker in youth justice reform.
ANA, a tenured member serving since 2023, has been deeply involved in community organizing and mobilization efforts to support unhoused individuals affected by the recent wildfires in Los Angeles County, California. Working alongside peers and community members, Ana helped distribute food and essential supplies while personally engaging with those displaced by the disaster. Her dedication to direct action and on-the-ground efforts is a testament to her unwavering commitment to social justice.
BROOKLYN, a tenured member serving since 2023, and OLI, a member of the 2024 cohort, both full-time students in Marshall University's BS to MD program, recently achieved a major milestone—they have been officially accepted to the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine on full scholarships! Brooklyn is eager to explore different fields of medicine before deciding on her specialty, while Oli has a strong passion for forensic pathology. Both members are well on their way to improving healthcare outcomes, addressing community needs, and advancing the future of medical practice.
The OAYI TTA team is proud to celebrate these outstanding accomplishments and the impact being created beyond the board!
Interested in joining or learning more about the YNOW Task Force? Do you want to be notified about youth-related training and technical assistance (TTA) resources and events? Follow the YNOW Task Force on Instagram@ynowtaskforce, or contact the IIR OAYI TTA Team directly at oayi-yab@iir.com.
This article outlines how three grantee sites have utilized Overdose Fatality Review (OFR) teams to support the work they are doing to address opioid-affected youth in their communities. Lackawanna County government in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Lift Community Action Agency in Hugo, Oklahoma, and National Alliance on Drug Endangered Children/Knik Tribe in Palmer, Alaska, have created or expanded their OFR efforts using OAYI funding. Each site also had the opportunity to attend the OFR National Forum to discuss relevant issues and trends, share ideas, exchange resources, and gain new skills to improve programs. To read the full article, click here.
COMMUNITY IN SCHOOLS YOUTH DRUG PREVENTION PROGRAM
IIR was recently awarded the Community in Schools Youth Drug Prevention grant and will serve as the lead training and technical assistance provider, responsible for oversight and monitoring. Through this funding, IIR will work with OJJDP to award grants to local nonprofits to implement programs to prevent youth substance use and select subaward recipients. Information on the notice of funding opportunities will be made available by IIR soon.
The goal of this program overseen by IIR is to administer a subaward program for local project sites to reach a goal to build capability and capacity of diversion programs serving justice-involved youth with substance use disorder (SUD) and co-occurring mental health and substance use disorder (MHSUD) needs, preventing them from entering the formal justice system and diverting them to treatment, healing, and hope. Information on notice of funding opportunities for this program will be made available by IIR soon.
The OAYI Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) team is your dedicated training and technical assistance provider for the opioid initiative. A range of support areas are offered, including:
● Resource provision
● One-on-one subject-matter expert (SME) consultations
● National webinars
● Training delivery
Our TTA services are available free of charge to both OAYI grantees and non-grantees. Assistance can be requested by visiting the OAYI website at https://www.oayi.org/.
Also feel free to follow us on YouTube for the most recent podcast episodes:
http://www.youtube.com/@opioidaffectedyouthinitiat8408
Visit our website:
https://www.opioidaffectedyouth.org/
This publication is being supported by Grant Number 15PJDP-21-GK-03630-JJO, awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Justice.
