March | April 2019

News From the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Seal of Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

In 2017, more than 70,000 Americans died of a drug overdose, and more than 47,000 of those deaths involved opioids. The rate of opioid overdose deaths among youth ages 15–24 has increased significantly since 1999, with 4,094 deaths in this age group in 2017.

The March 14, 2019, meeting of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention highlighted a range of federal initiatives to combat opioid abuse among youth and young adults.

Administrator Caren Harp, Vice Chair of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, responds to a panel discussion on the opioid crisis at the Council’s March 14, 2019, meeting.Administrator Caren Harp, Vice Chair of the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, responds to a panel discussion on the opioid crisis at the Council’s March 14, 2019, meeting.
June Sivilli, Associate Director of Public Health, Education, and Treatment at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, provided an overview of the Administration’s Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse, which has included significant increases in federal funding; a White House Opioid Summit in March 2018; a new website, The Crisis Next Door; and the recent release of the 2019 National Drug Control Strategy.

Ms. Sivilli’s presentation focused on the effectiveness of medication-assisted treatment (MAT)—which combines medications such as methadone and naltrexone with behavioral therapies—in addressing opioid addiction. Compared to behavioral interventions alone, MAT is associated with lower rates of substance use, overdose, and criminal justice system involvement. However, only 1 of 21 youth age 17 and younger under and only 1 of 4 young adults ages 18 to 22 receive these medications as part of their treatment.

left quoteCourts should explore ways to engage pediatricians and other physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants to encourage medication-assisted treatment.right quote

—June Sivilli
Associate Director of Public Health, Education, and Treatment
Office of National Drug Control Policy

A major challenge in access to MAT is that certain medications require medical professionals to obtain a special waiver from the Drug Enforcement Administration in order to write prescriptions to treat opioid abuse. Among a range of available resources, the Providers’ Clinical Support System offers special training to obtain the waiver, Ms. Sivilli said.

Ramon Bonzon, a public health advisor with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), emphasized that combating the opioid crisis is one of the top priorities in SAMHSA’s current Strategic Plan. Funding opportunities available to states include the State Targeted Response to the Opioid Crisis program, which is expanding prevention, treatment, and recovery support services to address the opioid epidemic; and the Medication-Assisted Treatment–Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction, which is helping states improve access to evidence-based MAT services. Among other recent developments,  in June 2018, SAMHSA announced a $930 million funding opportunity for its State Opioid Response program and a $50 million funding opportunity for its Tribal Opioid Response program.

 

Tara Kunkel, a senior drug policy advisor at the Bureau of Justice Assistance, described the Bureau’s Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program. Among other goals, the program aims to divert nonviolent drug offenders from prosecution and connect individuals to treatment services; expand evidence-based treatment, including MAT, in jails and prisons; increase peer support services and recovery housing; and prioritize real-time data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Ms. Kunkel highlighted the Bureau’s substantial investments in ODMAP, a digital tool that enables communities to mobilize an immediate response to a sudden increase in overdose events. In fiscal year (FY) 2018, the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program issued 168 awards totaling $175 million—a dramatic increase from the 50 awards totaling $27 million issued in the previous fiscal year.

left quoteThe sites participating in OJJDP’s Opioid Affected Youth Initiative are establishing multidisciplinary task forces to identify areas of concern, collecting and interpreting data to better coordinate response efforts, and implementing services to address prevention, intervention, and diversion.right quote

—Kellie Blue
Associate Administrator, OJJDP

Kellie Blue, OJJDP Associate Administrator, summarized the Office’s initiatives to address the opioid epidemic. The Opioid Affected Youth Initiative awarded $7 million in FY 2018 to support the development of a data-driven, coordinated response to opioid abuse in six sites. OJJDP’s Mentoring Strategies for Youth Impacted by Opioids program provided $3.5 million to seven sites to support mentoring services as part of a prevention and treatment approach for youth impacted by opioids. In addition, OJJDP’s Statewide and Regional Mentoring Initiative for Youth Impacted by Opioids awarded $6.2 million to national mentoring organizations, states, and tribal governments to implement statewide or regional approaches to expand mentoring for youth affected by opioids. Finally, OJJDP awarded $16.2 million to support juvenile and family drug courts through programs, training and technical assistance, and research.

The meeting of the Coordinating Council concluded with remarks by Betty-Ann Bryce, a special advisor on rural issues at the Office of National Drug Control Policy. She cited major challenges associated with substance abuse in rural communities, including difficulty in accessing medical care, unemployment, and a social services infrastructure under stress. In October 2018, the Department of Agriculture and Office of National Drug Control Policy unveiled a new Rural Resource Guide, which offers a “one-stop-shop” listing for rural leaders seeking federal funding and partnership opportunities to address the opioid crisis; and a community assessment tool, an interactive database to help community leaders assess how and why the opioid epidemic is impacting their regions.


The Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is an independent body within the executive branch of the federal government operated under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The council's primary functions are to coordinate federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs, federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and federal programs relating to missing and exploited children.

The council is made up of 22 members—13 ex officio and affiliate members and 9 practitioners. The ex officio members are: the Attorney General; the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services (HHS), Housing and Urban Development, and Labor; the Assistant Secretary of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Affiliate members are the Secretaries of the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, and the Interior, and the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of HHS. The nine juvenile justice practitioner members are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate Majority Leader, and the President of the United States. In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Council holds public meetings up to four times a year in which members discuss activities to facilitate and support cross-agency coordination.