Winnebago county had 47 overdose deaths last year

The County of Winnebago received a $833,000 Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) under the Second Chance Act Reentry Initiative (CFDA 16.812) to address opioid overdose prevention. The grant funding will enable the county to establish a Solutions Peer Response Team that targets high-vulnerability areas including the local jail. The team will provide recovery coaches, a recovery pod, and a Vivitrol program to work with incarcerated individuals on substance use disorder treatment and release planning. Additionally, the grant will fund the hiring of three additional peer recovery coaches, one part-time coach, and a coach coordinator, as well as a caseworker in the jail to provide evidence-based screenings, assessments, treatment, discharge planning, and crisis intervention. The county will partner with the University of Wisconsin to conduct an evaluation of the program. The grant award period is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2027.

Of these, eight were on probation and two had been incarcerated within 30 days prior to their death. In 2023 there was an increase from 27 percent to 60 percent of decedents having been involved with law enforcement to include corrections and probation. This prompted the county to increase its focus on those incarcerated and provide medication-assisted treatment interventions.to address the issue, the county established the solutions peer response team through its contractor, solutions recovery, incorporated. Funded through a 2022 comprehensive opioid, stimulant and substance use program grant to the winnebago county health department, the solutions peer response team targets areas of high vulnerability including the jail and is hosted through the jails sobriety treatment assisted recovery. The sobriety treatment assisted recovery team works with jail residents to address substance use disorders with three components: recovery coaches, a recovery POD, and a vivitrol program. Coaches work with individuals on release planning. Resource information is provided, however, a warm hand-off to the community has yet to be developed. The county plans to close this GAP by using grant funding to hire three additional peer recovery coaches, one part-time coach, andone coach coordinator. The county will also use grant funds to pilot a caseworker in the jail. This caseworker will provide evidence-based screenings, assessment, treatment, discharge planning, and crisis intervention. A key role will be to hold develop relationships with community service providers. The jail will work with the university of wisconsin to conduct an evaluation.