Opioids Response Roundup

Director's Note

The Opioid Response Unit's activities have been ramping up this summer. I have been visiting numerous regions around the state to answer questions as they prepare to receive the first payments of the opioid settlement funds.

The nineteen Colorado Regional Opioid Abatement Councils are beginning to design their community-based opioid abatement strategies. This important work is being done by collaborating with stakeholders, subject matter experts, and community members to identify the right solution for their communities.

A few reminders:

In August we are hosting our first Colorado Opioid Abatement Conference with experts from around the state. If you have not already registered, we recommend you register now due to limited space. There will be remote options available as well as recordings after the event.

We recently launched a new portal for local governments to either opt-in to retain their allotted opioid settlement funds or opt-out to route the funds to their region. This brings us one step closer to distribution of settlement dollars.

On behalf of the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council and the Colorado Department of Law, I want to express our appreciation to all the stakeholders and partners across the state who are collaborating to maximize the impact of the funds.

Thank you for your continued partnership.

Sincerely,

Heidi K. Williams

Director of Opioid Response

Colorado Department of Law

Colorado's First Opioid Abatement Conference

Join us for an interactive 2-day conference on best practices for addressing the opioid crisis, the nuts and bolts of opioid settlement funds, how to leverage state and national resources, and practical information about receiving funds.

Gain inspiration from a series of dynamic speakers and local experts and build relationships with other decision-makers statewide. Agenda available here!

Click Here to Register!

Opioid Settlement Funds to Local Governments

On June 13, the identified primary contact for most participating local governments in Colorado received an email with their estimated funding allocations and a link to the Colorado Opioid Settlement Tracker (COST). Participating local government is defined as local governments who have signed on to the Colorado Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Twenty percent of all of Colorado's opioid settlement funds are directly allocated to the participating local governments. With the Colorado Opioid Settlement Tracker (COST), local governments are now choosing whether they will pool their funds with their region(s) (i.e. route their funds to the region) or retain and manage their own local government share of the opioid settlement funds. If participating local governments choose to retain their funds, they must use funds for opioid abatement purposes only and report annually on expenditures.

Through this process, local governments and regions are working together to maximize the impact of opioid settlement funds in their communities. The deadline to complete has been extended to August 17, 2022.

If you have any questions about this process, are delayed in completing or if you are not sure if your local government has received this information, please reach out to the Opioid Response Unit at opioids@coag.gov, or by phone at 720-508-6904.

Welcome the Opioid Response Unit's New

Program Assistant Jack Patterson

Contact Jack and the rest of the team at opioids@coag.gov

Jack Patterson joined the Opioid Response Unit as the new Program Assistant in May, bringing his over five years of experience in community programming and operations to the team. Jack joins us from the non-profit sector where he most recently managed a state-wide behavioral health-focused AmeriCorps program and developed healthcare workforce programming.

Born in London, Jack came to the States when he was young. After a decade in the Chicago area, he moved to Colorado to study at the University of Denver. His fascination with community systems led to him triple majoring in Public Policy, Ecology & Biodiversity, and Political Science, bringing together a range of studies around what he calls “human impact.”

Jack provides a range of support to the Opioid Response Unit core functions and is the engine behind our opioids@coag.gov email. We could not be more thrilled to have Jack on our team!

Updates from Across Colorado

Communities across Colorado are getting to work, planning how they are going to utilize the opioid settlement funds.

Learn more about what's happening across the state with the links below!

Attorney General - Teva Announcement

Mesa - GJ Sentinel

Pikes Peak - Gazette

Montrose - Montrose Press

Jefferson - Denver Gazette

Boulder - Daily Camera

Chaffee - Ark Valley Voice

Larimer - Reporter-Herald

El Paso - KRDO

Substance Use Disorder Stigma Course for State and Local Leaders

Learn about the latest research around SUD and criminal justice stigma with this free course created by the Addiction Policy Forum and The Council of State Governments Justice Center.

Participants will also learn from leading experts on stigma within the SUD and criminal justice fields about the manifestation of stigma at the structural and individual level and innovations to reduce stigma.

Learn More About the Course and Register Here!

2021 Fentanyl Overdose Death Data

2021 drug overdose data released by Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) - Colorado Drug Overdose Dashboard

According to final data, 1,881 Coloradans died of drug overdose in 2021

Of these, 1,154 involved some form of opioid (prescription, fentanyl or heroin)
In 2021, over 60% of all drug overdose deaths involved some form of opioid
Fentanyl-associated deaths of Colorado residents have more than quadrupled in 2 years—from 222 deaths in 2019 to 912 fentanyl-associated deaths of Coloradans in 2021

Please find the Fentanyl Infographic in English and Spanish here.

New Treatment Locator Resources

OwnPath, is a new searchable Colorado-specific care directory launched by the Behavioral Health Administration to address behavioral health, including opioids. With OwnPath, you can find meaningful care for yourself or someone you care about in Colorado.

You can search for specific services or use a guided search to identify the providers or resources that best meet your needs. You can trust that all providers are correctly licensed, and you can narrow your search by thoughtful and inclusive criteria.

Visit OwnPath Searchable Directory

988 Crisis Support Number in Colorado

As of July 16, 2022, Colorado has deployed the 988 dialing code, a new, easy-to-remember three-digit number for call (multiple languages), text, or chat (English only).