The commonwealths attorneys office for the county of augusta, virginia proposes to implement a peer services expansion to its pathways program

The Augusta County Board of Supervisors received a $1,000,000 Project Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and other Substances Use Program (COSSUP). The purpose of the grant is to expand the county's Pathways program to serve more justice-involved individuals with substance use disorders. Key project activities include establishing peer counseling and peer recovery support services both within the Pathways program and at partner agencies. Expected outcomes include improved client engagement, retention, and outcomes within Pathways, as well as enhanced service delivery and cross-agency collaboration at the partner organizations. The grant will serve the population of Augusta County, Virginia, with a focus on individuals experiencing substance use disorder or co-occurring mental health and substance use crises. The project period is from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2026.

The purpose of the project is to expand its currently existing pathways program to serve the expanding number of justice involved persons with substance use disorder in augusta county. Project activities include establishment of peer counseling and peer recovery support services both within the pathways program and within partnering agencies at intercepts 0 and 1 in the sequential intercept model. Within pathways, peer counseling and peer recovery support will focus on enhancing client retention, engagement, and quality of outcomes by providing evidence-based peer services. Peers placed within partnering agencies will render on-demand peer services to ordinary agency clients who present as needing services. They will also collaborate with similarly placed peers in other agencies and within pathways. Expected outcomes include the development of a fully capable peer recovery and peer support organization capable of deploying peers both internally and externally to respond to crisis situations and participant needs in a flexible and efficient manner. Within pathways, IT is expected that client engagement rate, retention rate, and quality of outcomes will improve over their current levels. Within partnering agencies, IT is expected that peers will enhance agency outcomes by enabling cross-agency cooperation and more effective engagement with their clients. This project serves augusta county, a small, semi-rural county with the population of 77, 487. Its direct beneficiaries are those who are experiencing substance use disorder or are in cooccurring mental health and substance use crisis. However, the entire population of augusta county will indirectly benefit through the increased efficiency and quality of outcomes within the criminal justice and public health agencies involved. The project includes partnerships between augusta county sherriffs department, blue ridge court services, valley community services board, blue ridge criminal justice board.