COSSAP is committed to supporting effective responses to illicit substance use and misuse throughout the United States via policy and practice. There are four key areas of programmatic focus.
Providing access to a comprehensive continuum of substance use treatment services for individuals with substance use disorder and co-occurring disorders and strengthening public safety, public health, and behavioral health partnerships reduces recidivism and criminal justice costs.
Divert nonviolent drug offenders from prosecution and connect individuals to substance use and misuse treatment and recovery support services.
Invest in a range of programs that involve partnerships between community-based behavioral health and the justice systems in lieu of jail.
Provide access to evidence-based treatment in jails and prisons and support services upon reentry.
Enhance peer recovery support services delivered by trained individuals with lived experience and expand access to recovery housing.
Ensure that at-risk populations, as well as law enforcement and first responders, have access to naloxone.
Public safety, public health, and behavioral health stakeholders need access to timely and accurate information about the drug environment at the community level to prioritize outreach efforts, assess the impact of local strategies, and monitor the evolving nature of the drug environment.
Support action research within the COSSAP grant program and disseminate research findings to inform policy.
Increase the use of linked data sets to improve knowledge of trends, respond rapidly to emerging drug trends, and focus resources on high-risk populations.
Support access to timely and accurate information about the drug environment and increase the capacity of communities to develop effective responses based on the data.
BJA strives to align its resources with those of other federal agencies to maximize the impact of its work. BJA is also partnering with philanthropy to broaden the reach of its investments and leverage additional resources.
Support collaboration and alignment across public health, public safety, and behavioral health systems to support effective responses to substance use and misuse and drug overdoses.
Integrate the child welfare, public safety, and behavioral health system to facilitate access to effective services for children and families impacted by the substance use and misuse epidemic.
Develop models to address the complex and variable nature of rural and tribal substance use and misuse and increase treatment capacity.
A comprehensive approach to illicit substance use and misuse includes screening and assessing for substance use disorder across the sequential intercept model and strengthening state prescription drug monitoring programs to facilitate appropriate prescribing and dispensing of controlled pharmaceuticals and identifying drug diversion.
Support media campaigns to increase knowledge about opioids, stimulants, and other substances of use and misuse and the associated risks.
Implement education programs for prescribers on the risks of overprescribing, alternatives to opioids for acute pain, and recognizing the signs of addiction.
Strengthen prescriber and dispenser utilization of PDMPs through outreach and training to understand the value and application of PDMP data, supporting data integration, and implementing procedures to increase the accuracy and timeliness of data.
Increase the capacity of law enforcement and other first responders, criminal justice professionals, and behavioral health providers to identify and effectively respond to individuals with substance use disorders.
Integrate routine screening for substance use and misuse and co-occurring disorders into key points in the criminal justice system.