Funds can come from a variety of sources. Some law enforcement overdose response initiatives have been funded directly out of their operational budget. Others have partnered with sister health agencies such as state or county Departments of Public Health to cover naloxone kit supplies and provide training. Naloxone supplies can also be made available through partnerships with local emergency medical services, businesses, or healthcare institutions. Forfeiture funds can be used to fund naloxone rescue kits along with training and limited overtime costs.
In January 2017, BJA released two funding opportunities as part of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which is the first major federal substance abuse disorder treatment and recovery legislation in 40 years. The Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program and the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-Based Program support CARA’s goals to address the opioid epidemic by encouraging comprehensive, cross-system, data-driven, and evidence-based planning and collaboration among stakeholders from the criminal justice field and substance abuse treatment and recovery system. Included under the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-Based Program is support for overdose outreach projects, which can connect overdose survivors with treatment and recovery services, including naloxone, and educate communities on overdose prevention. BJA recently announced the 50 communities and organizations who were awarded funding for Category 1 through 6 of the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-based Program, and the four awardees that will receive funding under the COAP TTA Program. Read more about each award on BJA's website. FY 2018 solicitations will be announced here when they are released in early 2018.
Other federal funding opportunities include the Byrne Justice Assistance Grants (JAG) and High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) grants, which may also be used to equip officers with naloxone and train them in overdose reversal and prevention. Outside funding may be predicated on certain conditions, including reporting requirements to help track overdose problems and program impact. Personnel training costs are typically covered from departments’ operational budgets, but limited funding for overtime expenditures may be available through state and federal grants. Information about JAG funds can be found on BJA's website.
The COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force (AHTF) Program combats heroin and the unlawful distribution and trafficking of prescription opioids. COPS AHTF is a competitive grant solicitation open to state law enforcement agencies with multijurisdictional reach and interdisciplinary team (e.g., task force) structures. Under the AHTF FY 2016 grant, $5.7 million was awarded to justice agencies. Each grant is two years (24 months) in duration and there is no local match.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently made funding awards for more than $43 million in grants over multiple years to help communities and healthcare providers prevent opioid overdose deaths and provide treatment for opioid use disorder.
Administered through SAMHSA, these funds were made available through the following three grants:
- Medication-Assisted Treatment and Prescription Drugs Opioid Addiction: Provides $31 million to six grantees to increase access of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. MAT combines behavioral therapy and FDA-approved medication.
- First Responders: Provides $11.2 million to 21 grantees to train and provide resources for first responders and members of other key community sectors on carrying and administering an FDA-approved product for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose.
- Improving Access to Overdose Treatment: Provides $1 million to one grantee to expand availability to overdose reversal medications in healthcare settings and to establish protocols to connect patients who have experienced a drug overdose with appropriate treatment.
Applications for these three grants were due Monday, July 31, 2017. View the resources below to learn about the funding opportunities. To view the recipients of each award, visit the SAMHSA Grant Announcements and Awards page.