The institute for intergovernmental research (IIR) proposes to provide comprehensive opioid, stimulant, and substance use program (cossup) overdose fatality review (OFR) training and technical…

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) was awarded a $2,000,000 Cooperative Agreement by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) (CFDA 16.838). Over a 24-month period, IIR will provide training and technical assistance to state, local, and tribal jurisdictions to develop or enhance Overdose Fatality Review (OFR) teams. The project aims to increase access to and use of data and information sharing to enhance prevention and response to overdoses. Key objectives include building the capacity of OFR multidisciplinary teams, developing new responses and resources, enhancing the quality and reach of services, and tracking trends and building tools to support effective OFR strategies. IIR will partner with subject matter experts, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association to deliver this comprehensive OFR training and technical assistance program.

The institute for intergovernmental research (IIR) proposes to provide comprehensive opioid, stimulant, and substance use program (cossup) overdose fatality review (OFR) training and technical assistance (TTA) over a 24-month period for a total of $2,000,000. The project will address the overarching goal of supporting state, local, and tribal jurisdictions with efforts to prevent and reduce overdose deaths through development or enhancement of ofrs that increase access to and use of data and information sharing to enhance prevention of and responses to overdoses. To address this goal, this proposal seeks to expand, equip, and enhance ofrs by implementing four objectives: (1) build the capacity of OFR multidisciplinary teams to analyze and review aggregate data to understand overdose trends and gaps in strategies and services; (2) develop new responses and deploy resources through an accountable implementation framework to address overdose prevention strategy gaps and needs; (3) enhance the quality and reach of services for the field through collaborative approaches to promote and advance the work of the cossup TTA providers; and (4) track trends and build tools to support translation of knowledge of effective OFR strategies. IIR OFR TTA staff have extensive professional experience in collecting and analyzing data to understand themes and identify needs and trends and in building and coordinating multidisciplinary teams to facilitate a series of confidential, individual death reviews at the state and local levels to effectively identify system gaps and innovative community-specific overdose prevention and intervention strategies. The OFR staff have provided innovative, timely, and responsive OFR TTA since the formal inception of the cossup OFR TTA support in 2019 and have authored the pinnacle resource, overdose fatality review: a practitioners guide to implementation, that is the foundation for the work happening throughout the country. IIR proposes to partner with other cossup TTA providers, subject-matter experts, the medical college of wisconsin, and the legislative analysis and public policy association. These partnerships, along with the OFR staffs expertise and support, will significantly advance the OFR fields standards of practice and ultimately prevent and reduce overdose deaths.