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Group Project

One of the top public health priorities for the USA is the burgeoning opioid crisis. There are a number of agencies tackling this issue from several different stand points. Work is being done but the efforts seem fragmented, some work appears duplicated and some agencies are at capacity in the services they contribute to help solve the problem.  You are a public health research professor with ties to the community.

When the request for proposals came out you had a two-week time frame to get your proposal submitted.  You got it done. The Kentucky State Health Department funded your for proposal in the amount ($180,000 USD) to expand Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE) to reduce opioid overdose mortality and decrease incidence and prevalence of opioid addiction. This $180,000 is to be spent in one year to increase the number of recovery residences that support access to all forms of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) (KY Cabinet for Health, 2019)[1].

In addition, UK received ($87 million) the largest single grant awarded in the history of the university to tackle the opioid crisis[2]. From this funding, $250,000.00 has been allocated per year (over the next 4 years) to a coalition tasked with bringing the right partners together to reduce the fragmented work that is occurring in addressing the opioid crisis and create a more cohesive goal driven alliance in KY. You saw this as an opportunity to for partnership. Your proposal to UK was also successful. You now have a total budget of $1,180,000.00 to spend over the next four years to address this problem.

Your goal was to identify community partners and determine three key areas for how these funds should be spent (one is the recovery residence).  Bear in mind that every public health intervention should be assessed and evaluated for its need, fidelity, effectiveness, and impact.[3]

Write up a summary of what your team will be doing (like a white paper) to submit to the governor’s office to explain and justify what you are doing. Cover the following:

1. Cover letter

2. Introduction Epidemiology & Background of the Opioid Crisis in the USA and KY

3. Coalition Building -- Why the need for the coalition?  What will it be called?

4. Who are the key agency stakeholders, why included, roles/function, one representative each.

5. Two other local community stakeholders not associated with a public/private health agency

6. Which agency will be the lead agency and why?

7. Maybe this could be summarized in a table. See example below

8. Describe any governance & structural characteristics

9. Breakdown of cost and finance

10. How you will evaluate the effectiveness of your proposal?

Stakeholder	Why Included	Role & Functions
Appalachian Regional Council (ARC)	Aims for community and economic development, and health improvement in the Appalachian region	Provide resources, information and access to the community for printing pamphlets, or other tasks focusing on the community.

[1]KY cabinet for Health and Family Services. Kentucky Opioid Response Effort (KORE).  https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dbhdid/Pages/kore.aspx

[2] UK News. “UK, Kentucky Awarded $87 Million to Lead Effort in Combating Nation's Opioid Epidemic”  https://uknow.uky.edu/research/uk-kentucky-awarded-87-million-lead-effort-combating-nations-opioid-epidemic

[3] Fitzpatrick, J.L., Sanders, J.R. & Worthen, B.R. (2004). Program Evaluation: Alternative Approaches and Practical Guidelines. Pearson Education, Inc. Boston, MA.

· The federal Government's Budget Process:https://www.usa.gov/budget

· Policy Basics: Introduction to the Federal Budget Process: https://www.cbpp.org/research/introduction-to-the-federal-budget-process

· For reference or future use here is a link to Public Health Finance Tutorials by Louis Gapenski. PUBLIC HEALTH FINANCE TUTORIALS