West: Lake County

Seeking to improve both treatment outcomes as well as continuity of care between services, Lake County has funded a certified peer recovery specialist (CPRS) to work directly in the county jail.

A CPRS is an individual in recovery who has met training requirements and is certified by the state of Tennessee to provide peer-to-peer support services. CPRS services have been shown to have a positive impact on treatment attendance and outcomes, cravings, risky behaviors and other components of recovery, but they are underutilized.

Concerned over high recidivism rates and the fact that the risk of overdose is at its highest within the first two weeks of release from jail, the Lake County Prevention Coalition presented the idea to the mayor and county commission and it quickly grew into an executable plan. Jeff Roberson, CPRS, has since been hired and has begun offering services, and program partners have also connected the sheriff’s office to the local Mobile Health Unit to explore additional services among other options intended to improve the success of re-entry.

Roberson encourages stakeholders in other counties to find common ground. “Find that cohesion and, usually, things can work. I wish that I could name everyone individually, but I’m sure I would forget someone. We have a wonderful health department, school system, courthouse, jail staff, commission, community centers, so many amazing community members, and we can’t forget the support and guidance of the SMART initiative.”

He also stressed the importance of strong leadership.  “All of the programs, community support and all efforts involved would be ineffective without the driving force of our mayor, Danny Cook.”

Middle: Maury County

Chaired by Finance Director Doug Lukonen with General Sessions & Juvenile Court Judge Doug Chapman as vice chair, the Maury County Opioid Abatement Committee had a busy autumn, approving the allocation of $920,770 to pay for multiple remediation efforts.

Numerous organizations applied to the county’s community grant process, covering multiple abatement strategies.

• Delta Recovery was awarded $297,060 to support un- and under-insured individuals in treatment, harm reduction resources and recovery housing support,
• Maury Regional Medical Center will receive $360,000 to onboard a new Federally Qualified Health Center psychiatrist and two care navigators for opioid use disorder to increase the healthcare workforce and improve continuity of care, 
• The Maury County Prevention Coalition will receive $120,710 to hire new key personnel to significantly expand their impact, increasing the number and uptake of local youth prevention programs, 
• Place of Hope has been awarded $70,000 to help cover the cost of residential treatment services and onboard an additional licensed counselor and case manager, 
• GWP Recovery Ministries will receive $38,000 to provide transportation services and funding for their recovery services,
• $20,000 has been set aside for the county to build a website to house a comprehensive catalog and central database of information that would “aid any person affected by opioid use,” and 
• South Central Human Resource Agency has been given $15,000 for drug testing supplies to support the local Recovery Court program.

These programs address the substance use crisis from multiple fronts: treatment, housing, prevention and more. Maury County’s Office of Financial Management has done exemplary work tracking and maintaining information from applicants to keep the committee informed and its procedures efficient. A recommendation for other counties employing a community grant model would be to create and maintain a similar database.

The breadth of the abatement strategies covered is also a testament to the composition of the committee itself, which includes the county sheriff, health director, a public defender and leaders from local healthcare and recovery organizations. By representing so many perspectives from across the recovery ecosystem, the committee has ensured that potential projects get careful consideration from all angles.

The next application period for Maury County opioid abatement community grants will open in March 2025 in anticipation for FY 25-26. Application details can be found on the county website.

East: Union County

The Union County Opioid Abatement Board (UCOAB) has worked diligently and collaboratively to implement a growing list of abatement projects. Through these efforts, the county has helped provide needed recovery support, prevention and harm reduction programs.

Improving recovery support services for the justice-involved population has been an ongoing priority for the UCOAB. As an initial step, county settlement dollars were approved to hire a full-time recovery court coordinator to oversee the recovery court program. This coordinator is also a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS) who partners with various agencies to provide peer support services in the community and county jail.

The program has already had an impact. Since onboarding, the CPRS designed a new intake survey for the county jail, identifying client needs and opportunities to coordinate services to address needs upon release. Furthermore, data from this survey has been analyzed and used to help design the county’s future jail, which will include new space for comprehensive treatment and recovery programming.

As a next step, the UCOAB recently received approval to fund a part-time peer support specialist to work alongside the recovery court coordinator to increase access to peer support for recovery court participants, expanding the impact of CPRS services, which have been shown to improve treatment adherence and outcomes, as well as other aspects of recovery.

In addition to prioritizing recovery support, the UCOAB has emphasized prevention and harm reduction as core components of their overall abatement strategy. Last year, the board focused on preventing new cases of opioid use disorder by installing medication disposal boxes at county dump centers and distributing Deterra at-home disposal bags in the community. To date, 184 pounds of medication have been collected, and 1,000 Deterra bags have been distributed.

Finally, the board has also worked with various agencies to improve overdose response efforts in the county. With the support of various local agencies, the county has implemented ODMAP to track timely overdose data and conduct outreach in communities at risk of overdose spikes. In addition, the board has worked in partnership with the county EMS and other local and state agencies to establish an EMS naloxone leave-behind program.