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The Partnerships Initiative

Establishing cross-sector partnerships that promote collaboration and enhance information sharing is a critical component in any community’s successful approach to combating the opioid epidemic. These multidisciplinary collaborations facilitate the sharing of timely and accurate data and enable public safety, public health, and behavioral health agencies to leverage their distinct and complementary roles and capabilities to respond effectively to the opioid crisis and other emerging drug threats.

The Partnerships Initiative, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, supported cross-sector teams in six local communities and strengthened the data collection and analytic capabilities of public safety, public health, and behavioral health agencies. This initiative also enhanced the ability of these selected communities to implement, coordinate, and tailor rapid responses to reduce overdose deaths.

The Partnerships Initiative began September 1, 2019, and most sites concluded their activities by February 8, 2023. One site was extended to March 15, 2023.

Reducing overdose deaths by enhancing collaboration and information sharing between public safety, public health, and behavioral health and supporting coordinated cross-sector intervention strategies.