This report by the Urban Institute provides an initial assessment of the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP).
This report by the Urban Institute provides an initial assessment of the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP), which the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) implemented in 2017, following authorization by the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-198). Opioid misuse strikes broadly and often lethally, without regard to income, age, or race. Recent data indicate the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the impact of the opioid crisis, elevating the need for more information on effective strategies. Effectively addressing the complex and ever-changing opioid crisis requires a cross-systems, collaborative, data-driven approach. Most jurisdictions, however, lack the resources and capacity to build such a framework and use it to reduce opioid overdoses and use. BJA awarded the first round of COAP grants in Fiscal Years (FY) 2017 and FY2018. Fifty COAP grants were awarded in FY2017, with another 168 awards made in FY2018 and hundreds more awards made since then. In FY2017 and FY2018, COAP grants were awarded in six categories spanning law enforcement–behavioral health co-responder models to medication-assisted treatment (MAT), and to information-sharing collaborations to identify overdose hot spots or establish overdose-fatality review boards. The six categories are described in more detail in appendix A.