Hennepin county proposes to meet the following three goals: increase access to opioid use care (OUC) treatment options for detained individuals who are disproportionately african american and native…

This Project Grant award of $1,600,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (CFDA 16.838) will support Hennepin County, Minnesota in three key objectives:

1. Increase access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment for detained individuals, particularly those who are disproportionately African American and Native American, by hiring a dedicated sheriff's deputy to transport and escort detainees to treatment, and implementing software to improve medication distribution efficiencies. This is expected to result in 3,285 to 6,570 additional OUD treatment visits during the 3-year grant period.

2. Increase housing stability for Native American residents in need of OUD treatment by subcontracting with the Indigenous Peoples Task Force to hire a dedicated housing navigator to assist an additional 472 participants.

3. Reduce opioid overdose-related deaths by increasing distribution of naloxone within African American and Native American communities, through an evaluation of current distribution levels and targeted training and technical assistance for new providers.

The grant period runs from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2027.

Hennepin county proposes to meet the following three goals: increase access to opioid use care (OUC) treatment options for detained individuals who are disproportionately african american and native america; increase housing stability for native american residents in need of OUC; and reduce opioid overdose-related deaths by increasing distribution of naloxone within african american and native american communities.services will cover the geographic area of hennepin county, the most populous and diverse county within minnesota. The proposed activities will meaningfully advance equity and remove barriers to accessing services for african american and native american communities, who have been historically underserved and disproportionately impacted by opioid use. The program will support the indigenous peoples task force, who primarily serves and is led by native american residents. Additionally, hennepin county has experienced a greater than 50% (66% actual) increase in recent drug related overdose deaths. To increase access to OUC for detainees, hennepin county will hire a dedicated sheriffs deputy to remove the barrier of transportation and escort shortages that are preventing detainees from receiving and attending such treatment. Hennepin county expects this will increase detainee OUC visits by at least 3,285 during the grant period with a high-end goal of reaching 6,570 additional visits. In addition, the purchase of omnicell anywhere RN software will be implemented, increasing nursing and medication distribution efficiencies, expecting increases for detainees to receive medications in a more timely manner without gaps. To increase housing stability for native american residents in need of OUC hennepin county will subcontract with the indigenous peoples task force to hire a dedicated .5 housing navigator to assist an additional 472 native american participants beyond current service levels to gain housing stability while seeking OUC. Hennepin county will seek an overall reduction in opioid overdose-related deaths by increasing distribution of naloxone by evaluating current levels and sources of distribution, identifying gaps in the network that would most impact african american and native american residents, and providing training and technical assistance to support new providers.