Overview of this Effort
Goal: Distribute funding to reduce the impacts of the opioid crisis
The Challenge We’re Working to Address
Sources: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: Counts of drug overdose due to any opioid in Colorado, 2010-2019; Colorado Prescription Drug Abuse Consortium, “Heroin in Colorado” (2017) ;Brown, J. (2020, June 28) “Opioid crisis could get worse amid pandemic“; Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: Colorado Health Data and Statistics – Drug Overdose. Data is unavailable for the City and County of Broomfield due to data suppression rules. When a number is so small that individual people can be potentially identified, data is unavailable to the public to protect those individuals’ privacy.
When we address issues impacting the community as a result of the opioid epidemic, we put in place additional supports and structures that empower community members to earn skills and credentials, enter employment, and thrive.
“Opioid overdoses and addiction have devastated families and communities throughout Colorado, and this crisis poses a serious threat to the state’s public health, safety, and economy.”
Source: Combatting the opioid epidemic – Colorado Attorney General’s Office
However, traditional fund distribution practices create silos and competitiveness between those doing work, rather than fostering collaboration.
How This Work Came About
Attorney General Phil Weiser and local government leaders unveiled a first-of-its-kind joint framework for distributing statewide over $400 million that Colorado stands to receive from litigation settlements reached with companies who fueled the opioid crisis. The joint framework’s three core principles are to maximize settlement funds for Colorado communities, utilize existing infrastructure to the extent possible, and ensure regions hardest hit by the crisis get adequate funding. For more information on the joint framework and litigation settlement click HERE.
Adams County is one of 19 regions across Colorado that was allocated litigation settlement funds. RMP is supporting Adams County Government and the region to address issues impacting the community as a result of the opioid epidemic in alignment with a state-wide joint framework and ensuring funding from these settlements are invested in the region in a way that will have the most impact.
How We Are Going To Meet Our Goal
The RMP Team, which supports the overall network, has been contracted by Adams County Government (the fiscal agent for these funds) to serve as the backbone to this regional effort and facilitate a Regional Council whose role is to address the opioid crisis in Adams County long term, including:
- Distributing funds from the litigation settlement
- Setting and monitoring progress towards concrete targets that hold accountability to ensuring funding is invested in work that will have a measurable impact on the opioid crisis
- Identifying and taking action on state and local policy opportunities
Learn More
Learn more about this effort, including data and impact, our action underway in 2022 and beyond, and who’s involved, by clicking on the links in the left sidebar.
Click on the button below to see Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about this effort.
Click on the button below to sign up for the Adams Count Opioid Abatement Newsletter and Email Updates
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Jody Nowicki, RMP Senior Director of Stakeholder Impact, serves as the Project Manager for this effort. Contact Jody at JodyNowicki@RMPBackbone.org with additional questions or to learn more. |