Governor's Initiatives
Jobs & Hope West VirginiaJobs & Hope West Virginia is the state’s comprehensive response to the substance use disorder crisis. Established by Governor Jim Justice and the West Virginia Legislature, this program offers support through a statewide collaboration of agencies that provide West Virginians in recovery the opportunity to obtain career training and to ultimately secure meaningful employment.
County Recovery and Empowerment Pilot ProgramsIn February 2019, Governor Jim Justice announced a partnership between the Office of Drug Control Policy and West Virginia University on a pilot project in Berkeley and Jefferson counties. This project will work with community partners to strengthen and expand prevention and recovery resources and implement activities across the continuum of prevention, early intervention, treatment, overdose reversal, family support and recovery. This is the second pilot project spearheaded by Gov. Justice. The first pilot project, announced in February 2018, is based in Wyoming County and is a partnership between the ODCP and Marshall University. Yearly summaries of those pilot projects are submitted to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Resources Accountability by the ODCP. Those summaries can be found below:
Berkeley/Jefferson Counites - West Virginia University Wyoming County - Marshall University
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Quick Response TeamsQuick Response Teams are composed of emergency response personnel, law enforcement officers and a substance use treatment or recovery provider who contact individuals within 24-72 hours of their overdose to offer and assist those individuals with recovery support including referrals to treatment options. Click here to view the QRT map.
START (Sobriety Treatment And Recovery Teams) PilotsThe Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) Model is a child welfare based intervention that has been shown, when implemented with fidelity, to improve outcomes for both parents and children affected by child maltreatment and parental substance use disorders. The broad goals of START are to keep children safely with their parents whenever possible and to promote parental recovery and capacity to care for their children. An Announcement of Funding Availability (AFA) was released and awarded to Prestera Center to pilot the first START programs in Kanawha and Putnam counties. Prestera is currently hiring program staff and engaging other agencies and magistrate court judges to garner support for the pilot. The START program will be expanded to three additional counties: Fayette, Raleigh, and Mercer.
Diversion Programs
Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD)LEAD services allow public safety officials to work with behavioral health providers by diverting low-level drug offenders to treatment and support services, rather than jail and prosecution. LEAD case managers work with participants to connect them to intensive interventions such as assertive community treatment, residential SUD services, comprehensive case management, medication assisted treatment, and other support services.
Angel Initiative
The Angel Initiative is a joint effort between West Virginia State Police (WVSP) in collaboration with the ODCP to establish a substance use disorder (SUD) referral program. Codified Senate Bill 838 the Angel Initiative is a proactive approach offering an alternative to individuals with SUD. Under this initiative, anyone with a SUD can present at WVSP detachments to get help entering an addiction treatment center. No arrests, no prosecution, no questions asked.
The Halo program provides a second avenue of treatment entry though medical providers and pharmacies. As individuals visit their primary care physicians, local medical treatment facilities or their neighborhood pharmacist they enter a “zero repercussion” fast track to one of many comprehensive treatment centers.
Overdose Reversal
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those with substance use disorders has been devastating. Many individuals in recovery have lost connections to support and have been left in isolation. In addition, many in-person programs have been unable to operate during various times of the pandemic, leaving those in active addiction with fewer resources. However, one aspect of harm reduction that has continued throughout the challenges of the pandemic is naloxone training and distribution, with many programs introducing innovative ways to continue assisting those in need.
Treatment Resources
West Virginia was chosen as one of six states to partner with Shatterproof, a national
nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the devastation of addiction, on the
development and implementation of the ATLAS (Addiction Treatment Locator Analysis and Survey) system for addiction treatment
programs. ATLAS measures addiction treatment facilities’ use of best practices through a combination of validated data sources and reports the results of these measures publicly. The ODCP and BBH maintain consistent communication with the ATLAS team and conduct bimonthly ATLAS state advisory committee meetings with key stakeholders to guide the project. The focus for year two will be the integration of ATLAS into preexisting state resources and the marketing of this unique tool for West Virginians.
As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, there was a need to consider and implement innovative strategies that foster connections in the recovery community. The Connections App from CHESS Health is an engaging, evidence-based solution proven to improve treatment and long-term recovery outcomes for individuals with SUD. Since the Chess Health Connections app was released, providers and clients have embraced this new and innovative way to stay connected to others in recovery.
Process to get setup
- Click this LINK to complete an individual enrollment form.
- Once the form is submitted, you will receive a download link via text message.
- Download, install, and start using the Connections App including daily check-ins, eTherapy, message boards and more.
Still have questions? Email us here.
Collegiate
Recovery Programs (CRPs) are college or university-provided, supportive environments
within the campus culture that reinforce the decision to engage in a lifestyle
of recovery from substance use. CRPs have been supported by the ODCP since 2018. There are currently six funded CRPs working with the ODCP:
- West Virginia University
- Marshall University
- BridgeValley Community and Technical College
- West Virginia State University
- Concord University
- West Virginia University Institute of Technology
The ODCP hosts regular meetings with the CRPs and the West Virginia Collegiate Recovery Network, which is supported through state opioid response (SOR) funding allocated from BBH. The ODCP also participates on the Higher Education SUD Continuum of Care Collaborative. The purpose of the Collaborative is to increase communication, partnership and collaboration to improve access to evidence informed/based practices across the continuum of care (prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery) services for higher education stakeholders (students, faculty, staff, administrators, government partners, legislators, policy makers).
Recovery ResidencesRecovery residences provide safe, healthy, and drug and alcohol-free living environments that support individuals seeking recovery from substance use disorder. The National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR) formed in 2011 to develop best-practice standards and ethical principles to guide recovery housing operations across the country. The West Virginia Alliance of Recovery Residences (WVARR) is the state's designated NARR affiliate. WVARR implements certification and grievance processes for local recovery residences, and supports the recovery residence community through advocacy, training, and data-collection. Due to recent legislation, West Virginia recovery residences will be required to become WVARR-certified in order to be eligible for state funding and referrals from state-funded agencies. West Virginia certification opened publicly in November 2020. The link to apply is posted on the WVARR website.
Family Planning Resources
Family Planning and VLARC in CorrectionsThe ODCP has partnered with the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (DOCR) to provide voluntary long-acting reversible contraceptive (VLARC) and the Parenting Inside Out (PIO) curriculum in correctional settings. PIO is an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral parent management skills training program created for incarcerated parents through a six-year collaboration of scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and instructional designers. Both the information in the program and the way that information is presented were informed by knowledge derived from research and practice.
The West Virginia Family Planning Program is dedicated to providing access to quality health care to help women, men, and couples achieve their desired number and spacing of children and increase the likelihood that those children are born healthy.