Fiscal Note
The U.S. Department of Justice Smart Policing Grant will fund $700,000 for the Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative program. The Madison Police Department (MPD) will administer the grant and enter into a sole-source three-year contract ($251,869) with the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, on behalf of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health for research, guidance, and coordination services. The funding will support other contracts for case management, counseling, and peer support; supplies; and travel to meetings. There is no City match requirement for this grant. Staff time spent on the grant by MPD will be in conjunction with their normal duties and no appropriation is required.
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Authorizing the Mayor, City Clerk and Chief of Police to accept a $700,000 Smart Policing Initiative grant award for the Madison Police Department's Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative; and amend budgets accordingly.
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PREAMBLE
Dane County has noted a steady increase in opioid-related death rates since 2000 and beginning in 2008, opioid-related death rates surpassed those from motor vehicle crashes.
Opioid-related overdoses and emergency department (ED) visits for the period 2010-2014 have almost doubled in Dane County, as compared to 2002-2006. In 2014, 84% of the hospital visits due to opioid poisoning were attributable to prescription opioids and 16% to heroin, with heroin-related hospital visits rising five-fold for the period 2010-2014 compared to that of 2002-2006.
In 2014-2015, EMS units in Dane County reported 630 rescues requiring naloxone administration. In addition, there were 296 overdoses reported by the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin that did not involve an EMS.
The Madison Fire Department experienced a dramatic increase in naloxone administration in the first quarter of 2016 (111 cases), which doubled the cases in 2015 (49 cases), tripled the cases in 2014 (36 cases) and quadrupled those in 2013 (25 cases).
The use of naloxone by emergency personnel has doubled so far this year, tripled the cases in 2014 and quadrupled the number in 2013, effectively preventing many more deaths.
About 50 percent of burglaries (650 annually) in Madison are committed by offenders in relation to their drug use to support their habits.
Concerns about the scope of epidemic of opioid abuse and related harms have been raised by all parties involved in the lives and care of persons with opioid use disorders, from the affected individuals themselves, community organizations, medical professionals, policy makers and legislators, to law enforcement agencies. The current understanding of addiction as a chronic relapsing brain disease and research evidence indicating effectiveness of treatment and its superiority to incarceration, suggest that facilitating access to and engagement in treatment, as opposed to incarceration, can help improve criminal, safety and health outcomes of the communities where opioid use disorders and related crime are prevalent.
In spite of strong empirical evidence that treatment improves outcomes, studies show that only about 11% of those in need seek and receive treatment for alcohol/drug use disorders, according to the National Institute for Drug Abuse. Preliminary evidence suggests that “smart policing” approaches that rely on a collaborative community effort have the potential to increase the linkage to treatment for individuals in need of such services; this, in turn, can lead to reduced crime, incarceration and overdose rates.
WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Justice Smart Policing Initiative Grant Program was created to promote analysis-driven, evidence-based policing by encouraging state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to develop effective, economical and innovative responses to crime; and
WHEREAS, the Madison Police Department began convening concerned stakeholders in early 2016 for the purpose of addressing opioid-related overdoses and crime; and
WHEREAS, MPD has developed, with its partners, a new local program, based on successful pilots elsewhere that provide mechanisms for law enforcement to divert opioid-abusing individuals into treatment programs; and
WHEREAS these pilot programs have been successful at reducing reduction in rates of overdose and overdose-related death, property crime and recidivism than processing these individuals through the criminal justice system as usual; and
WHEREAS, USDOJ has awarded MPD a three-year, $700,000 Smart Policing Initiative Innovation grant to fund the Madison Addiction Recovery Initiative (MARI) program that will address opioid overdoses and deaths, which have risen a staggering seven-fold in the past five years locally; and
WHEREAS, MARI will facilitate treatment engagement among 160 individuals annually apprehended for eligible drug-related minor crimes; and self-referrals also will be able to participate in the initiative; and
WHEREAS, police officers will refer individuals to an intake counselor who will screen them and, working with providers for residential or outpatient treatment, and with peer support recovery coaches to ensure, provide immediate help and continuing support throughout the treatment period; and
WHEREAS, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers will evaluate our initiative, provide ongoing action research to improve service delivery, conduct a cost-benefit analysis of our goals; and a program coordinator will build and maintain the linkages between law enforcement, service providers and researchers; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Sec.4.26(4)(a)4. and Sec.4.26(4)(b) of Madison General Ordinances, these grant-funded services are only available through our grant partner, the Univerty of Wisconsin-Madison, and edcuational institution; and
WHEREAS, MARI agency partners (to date) include the Madison Police Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Public Health Madison-Dane County, Dane County Human Services, Madison Fire Department/EMS, Safe Communities Madison-Dane County, Parent Addiction Network, Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office, Wisconsin Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Wisconsin Public Health Bureau of Community and Health Promotion and WEA Trust; and
WHEREAS, local addiction treatment programs committed to partnering with MARI include Tellurian UCAN, Journey Mental Health, UW Behavioral Health and Recovery, ARC Community Services, NewStart and Connections Counseling.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor is authorized to accept the $700,000 Smart Policing Initiative grant award on behalf of the City of Madison.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Madison Police Department is authorized to administer the grant.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City is authorized to enter into a $251,869 three-year contract with the Board of Regents for the University of Wisconsin System, on behalf of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health (per MGO 4.26) for research, guidance and coordination services provided by our grant application partner, Aleksandra Zgierska, MD, PhD and others.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Finance Director and the Police Department are authorized to establish and/or maintain accounts as required for the administration of the grant funds; and to amend budgets accordingly
$618,397 3110020-54820-00000 Agency contracts (research, coordination, case management, counseling, peer support)
$ 72,603 3110020-53210-00000 Work supplies, inc. naloxone
$ 9,000 3110020-54520-00000 Travel to required USDOJ meetings
($700,000) 3110020-42110-00000 Federal revenue