Supporting the Nation's Judicial System & the Public it Serves

Rural Peer Exchange Site Visit Opportunity: Justice Partnerships to Address Substance Use

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR), a training and technical assistance (TTA) provider for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), is pleased to announce a peer exchange opportunity for rural communities on October 19–20, 2022 (with additional travel days required depending on your home location). Up to six rural communities will be selected to receive travel scholarships through the State Justice Institute to participate. These travel scholarships will allow each community to send a team of four practitioners to participate in the structured, 2-day peer exchange at no cost.

IMPORTANT:

Request forms for the peer exchange TTA opportunity in Lenoir County will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to submit their forms as early as possible but no later than September 21. Applicants are also encouraged to check https://www.cossapresources.org/Status/Peer-Exchange-Submissions to determine whether the opportunity is still open.

The peer exchange will be based in Lenoir County, North Carolina, a rural community in the eastern part of the state, and includes a visit on the second day to Wayne County, an adjacent community approximately 30 minutes away. Throughout the 2-day site visit, the six visiting teams will have the opportunity to learn about and observe the many successful aspects of Lenoir and Wayne Counties’ comprehensive, multidisciplinary substance use response, including:

  • The Family Accountability and Recovery Court (FARC). This family treatment court program serves rural Lenoir, Wayne, and Greene Counties. The FARC program supports parents and families entering the child welfare system because of parental substance use disorders. The court team includes two judges, a case coordinator, a case administrator, a parent attorney, a guardian ad litem, treatment providers, child welfare case workers, transitional housing representatives, vocational rehabilitation representatives, a community college representative, parenting support staff, peer support specialists and, when needed, a domestic violence treatment provider.
  • The Women’s House of Hope. This program is a 12-bed transitional housing facility operated by Hope Restorations. Hope Restorations is a transitional employment and training program for adults recovering from addiction or incarceration. In addition to housing, the Women’s House of Hope offers transitional employment, recovery groups, aftercare resources, and computer classes through the local library. Residents of the Women’s House of Hope can work at a local thrift store recently opened by Hope Restoration.
  • The Wayne County Detention Center’s jail-based medication-assisted treatment program, which includes a day reporting center.
  • The Wayne County Community College partnership with the detention center, which supports individuals earning a high school equivalency diploma while in custody. The community college is also a partner in the FARC and provides education services to treatment court participants. 
  • Local employers, including the Mother Earth Motor Lodge, that work closely with the treatment court to provide employment opportunities for treatment court participants.

Through this peer exchange, visiting teams can discuss and share best practices, exchange ideas and knowledge, and engage in peer networking events. Visiting teams also will be provided opportunities to meet together and process the information as a team.

For more information on this opportunity, including eligibility requirements, please view the request form here.

Technical Assistance Request Timeline

Request forms will be reviewed and approved on a rolling basis, with selections made no later than September 21.

Notification of selection:
By September 21, 2022

Technical Assistance Request Checklist
____Technical Assistance Request Form
The technical assistance request form should be emailed to COSSAP@iir.com.

Questions
If you have any questions about completing this form or have submission issues, please email COSSAP@iir.com.