Since its inception and under the guidance of the BOCC the Surry County Office of Substance Abuse Recovery (SCOSAR) has been committed to listening to community feedback, conducting research and data analysis, and recommending evidenced informed practices to our region. At its heart is the idea that a full spectrum approach requiring dedicated work on substance use prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery will result in the greatest positive impact on the health of our citizens.
Too many times helping systems are designed and developed based on funding streams and traditional organizational practices. Yet, the needs of our citizens and communities are fluid and holistic and most often do not fit the neat boxes of current interventions or services. The results of this document titled Recommendations for the Use of Opioid Settlement Litigation Funding and Local Prioritization Planning Model attempts to summarize the work of the SCOSAR since 2018 and be informed by formal needs assessment processes. Funding prioritization based on community based assessment processes and a strong evidence base will ensure fiducial and governmental accountability while promoting outcomes informed by research and experience. Such decisions when based on evidence will have a greater possible impact on the substance use epidemic in Surry County.
The following files provided on this blog posts are limited to include Community Needs Assessment and Prioritization Processes while also aligning recommendations to the North Carolina Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). We believe the SCOSAR approach is innovative and exemplifies national best practices and is possible only due to the investment and support of county leadership and community members.
The North Carolina MOA and the “Local Prioritization Planning Model” can be found in Appendix A and Appendix B of the Recommendations of Use of Opioid Litigation Settlement Funding document.
The NC MOA can also be found at: Final-Opioid-MOA-rev-July-2023-re-Ex-E-and-F.pdf (morepowerfulnc.org)
The Local Prioritization Planning Model can be downloaded on this page via the file name: Master Primary Rankings Priorities Rank%2.pdf.
Additional supporting resources may be found on the Surry County Cares Data Blog.