Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services receives $800K Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Projects of Regional and National Significance grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Fr-cara III - the Oklahoma fr-cara project will reduce opioid overdose deaths in Oklahoma through overdose prevention training, expanding community partnerships, distribution of opioid overdose reversal medications (oorms), and increasing referrals to treatment. The odmhsas will leverage the existing network of targeted naloxone distribution sites and engage additional community anchors, community-based organizations, and first responder agencies to improve the community response to overdose. The project will serve all individuals at-risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose in Oklahoma by implementing the Oklahoma fr-cara project statewide across all 77 Oklahoma counties; the project proposes to serve between 1,000-1,500 at-risk individuals annually and 5,250 at-risk individuals during the lifetime of the project. Community anchors, community-based organizations, and first responder agencies will receive overdose prevention training and oorm supplies to engage in targeted distribution of overdose reversal medications, provide education in their communities supported by odmhsas' training of trainer (tot) model, and supply at-risk individuals with overdose prevention resources and referrals to treatment. Fr-cara project partners will participate in a community engagement workgroup to collaborate with community stakeholders, as well as develop and implement workplans to improve local response to overdose, meet community needs, and increase access to resources and behavioral health treatment. The Oklahoma fr-cara project includes three overarching goals. First, the project will strengthen community capacity to respond to opioid use, engage in overdose prevention efforts, prevent overdose, and increase referrals to treatment through training and outreach. Second, the project will provide evidence-based overdose prevention training statewide to community anchors, community-based organizations, and first responder agencies. Finally, the project will improve access to medications to reverse opioid overdose and increase referrals to treatment statewide. These goals will allow for the promotion of prevention, improve community engagement, and strengthen behavioral health activities. Services delivered during planning, implementation, and evaluation of the Oklahoma fr-cara project will be aligned with SAMHSA’s strategic priorities. Strategies and interventions utilized during the project will be aligned with current evidence-based practices. Community engagement efforts will assist in aligning overdose response across sectors including first responders, schools, youth-serving organizations, criminal justice systems, civil courts, crisis and emergency services, and state, tribal, local, and community partners. The Oklahoma fr-cara project will better position Oklahoma communities to respond to emerging threats by expanding community overdose response networks, providing training and education reflecting changing drug trends, and establishing pathways to behavioral health treatment