Yurok Tribe's Opioid Affected Youth Initiative

The OJJDP FY 2019 Opioid Affected Youth Initiative(OAYI)will fund sites to develop a data-driven coordinated response to identify and address challenges resulting from opioid abuse that are impacting youth and community safety. The OAYI will support states, units of local government, and/or tribal governments to (1) develop a multidisciplinary task force with working groups to identify specific areas of concern; (2) collect and interpret data that will assist the task force in developing strategies and programming that will be used to better coordinate response efforts and resources; and (3) implement services that will address public safety concerns, intervention, prevention, and diversion services for children, youth, and families directly impacted by opioid abuse.

The Yurok Tribe will use funding to reduce juvenile crime and victimization by developing a culturally, congruent coordinated response that addresses opioid abuse and provides services to improve outcomes for children, youth, and their families affected by opioid use disorders. Existing partnerships between the Yurok Tribe Health and Human Services and Yurok Tribe Wellness Court serve as the nexus for coordinating system-level initiatives to address the opioid epidemic. To carry out program goals and objectives, the Tribe will hire a Site Coordinator, who will direct the Yurok Opioid Affected Youth Project under the supervision of the Yurok Tribe’s Health and Human Services Director. CA/NCF