In 2019, Addiction Policy Forum was awarded a five-year grant through the Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN) initiative, a program led by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and funded through the NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-termSM) Initiative. JCOIN is designed to advance scientific knowledge on effective policies, practices, and interventions to improve care for individuals that are justice-involved with opioid use disorder (OUD) and expand the use of these approaches into daily practice within health and justice settings.
JCOIN grants were awarded to 13 clinical research centers (“Research Hubs”), that are studying evidence-informed approaches to ensure quality care is provided to individuals with opioid use disorder in justice settings, and two resource centers that conduct complementary studies and provide supportive infrastructure: the Coordination and Translation Center and the Methodology and Advanced Analytics Resource Center.
Under the leadership of George Mason University, the Addiction Policy Forum is part of JCOIN’s Coordination and Translation Center and is responsible for managing logistics, engagement with practitioners and other key stakeholders in the justice and behavioral health fields, and dissemination of products and key research findings. In addition, the Addiction Policy Forum supports efforts to promote collaboration among grantees and stakeholders and provides timely updates to internal and external stakeholders on promising interventions and approaches to improve the capacity of the justice system.
JCOIN provides a number of resources for researchers and practitioners, including:
Free online courses and resources to support health and justice professionals, and the general public learn about the science of addiction and evidence-informed practices to improve care and service delivery across a variety of settings. These courses can be customized and tailored for any interested organization.
Free training and technical assistance to support community-based organizations develop strategies to improve substance use disorder (SUD) treatment delivery and facilitate practitioner and researcher partnerships to elevate research and evaluation in a variety of justice and health settings.
CONNECT, a profile system for researchers and practitioners in the health and justice arenas to improve collaboration, enhance the discovery of research, and facilitate peer-to-peer connections, mentoring, and other opportunities.
Learning Experiences to Advance Practice (LEAP) is a multifaceted program for teaching about the nuances of conducting research in criminal justice settings and is designed to educate any interested individual.
Learn more at https://www.jcoinctc.org/ (free access; registration required).
To learn more or if you have any questions, please contact Braeden Kelly at bkelly@addictionpolicy.org.