Attorney General Aaron Frey announced a partnership with the Catherine Cutler Institute’s Substance Use Research and Evaluation (“SURE”) Resource Center at the Muskie School of Public Service at USM to offer support to municipalities and counties receiving opioid settlement funds. The Institute will create a Resource Center to assist Maine’s counties and municipalities in identifying local needs and designing and employing evidence-based strategies to address those needs with the entity’s share of the opioid settlement.
“Settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors are bringing millions into Maine to use to fight the opioid epidemic and developing evidence-based research and support on how these funds could be best used to maximize their impacts may be of significant value to those receiving these funds,” said Attorney General Frey. “I am proud to announce this collaboration with the Catherine Cutler Institute to ensure that there is strong, research-backed, evidence-based, support available for municipalities and counties across the state. Additionally, the information this work is anticipated to generate and publicize will be of significant value in promoting best practices to all those working to tackle the opioid epidemic.”
SURE has worked with public and nonprofit clients across New England as well as the federal government to provide consultation, resources, training and technical assistance to develop, implement and improve programs and initiatives to treat and mitigate substance use disorder and its impacts, with a focus on access and outcomes in rural regions.
“The Substance Use Research and Evaluation team is passionate about improving the health and well-being of individuals and communities impacted by substance use. We are honored to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Attorney General’s office on this timely and important effort to support Maine’s municipalities to identify community needs and implement evidence-based practices to address the opioid use disorder epidemic, as well as future substance use disorder issues as they emerge in our communities. Our team is committed to working collaboratively with communities to fulfill the Center’s mission to expand the capacity of Maine communities to use data driven, evidence-based strategies to address substance use by providing consultation, resources, training, and technical assistance,” said Dr. Mary Lindsey Smith, Director of Substance Use Research and Evaluation.
The concept of establishing a substance use disorder research center within the University of Maine System was promoted by Representative Brennan and supported by the 131st Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.
“I am very pleased to have worked with Attorney General Frey on the creation of this resource center,” said Representative Michael Brennan. “This work is very timely given the opioid settlement funds the State of Maine has recently received. With this new center, we will significantly increase our ability to target funds for substance use programs that are most effective and efficient, allowing us to better evaluate programs and offer technical support to organizations that are providing these critical services.”
Financial support for the Resource Center comes from the Attorney General’s share of the opioid settlement funds. Municipalities and counties receiving settlement funds will be invited to opt-in to any of the services the Resource Center will offer, including support with data-driven policy and programmatic decisions, local and statewide collaboration, transparency, evaluation and monitoring, and sustainability. Maine municipalities and counties are estimated to get a collective $66 million in settlement funds over the next 18 years. For more information about Maine’s opioid settlements, click here: https://www.maine.gov/ag/opioids/
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