MEDIA CONTACT: Stephany Dugan - RA-DAPressOffice@pa.gov
Bloomsburg, PA - Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) kicked off the agency’s statewide stakeholder engagement tour to hear top issues and concerns surrounding the opioid and overdose crises, as well as highlight local successes and challenges. DDAP’s goal is to gather feedback that will help craft the agency’s plan for increased community and treatment provider engagement while also gaining stakeholder insight to assist the agency’s work on regulation reform.
For the kickoff, DDAP was joined by the Columbia, Montour, Snyder, Union Drug and Alcohol Program (CMSU), local officials, and substance use disorder (SUD) professionals in the treatment, prevention, intervention, and recovery fields.
“Listening to and engaging in discussions with local communities and providers is vital as we develop long-term responses to the overdose crisis,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones. “The Shapiro Administration is dedicated to ensuring we are impacting the lives of those struggling with substance use disorder in a positive way and this engagement tour is a necessary step forward.”
Stakeholders include individuals in recovery and those with lived experience, service providers, active service recipients, community leaders, schools, corrections units, and more. The tour will seek to reach communities and voices less frequently heard.
“I want to thank CMSU for bringing their region’s voices to the table,” said Secretary Davis-Jones. “Conversations like the ones we had today will help us at the state level to better understand issues with the highest need at the local level. No two regions or cities are alike, but by hearing directly from folks who are providing continued prevention, treatment and recovery supports to local residents, we can better serve all Pennsylvanians.”
As part of the kickoff, Secretary Davis-Jones observed a drug treatment court in process and participated in a related roundtable discussion, received feedback on evidence-based prevention programs in local school districts, and learned of the successes within the area’s warm hand-off program.
Today’s events mark the first stop on DDAP’s statewide stakeholder engagement tour. Future tour stops will include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, central and southcentral Pennsylvania, and additional regions of the Commonwealth.
Throughout the remainder of the tour, DDAP will seek to engage stakeholders on SUD issues related to:
- regulations and reform efforts
- data requirements and modernization needs
- health equity work and advancement
- treatment slot management
- improving departmental communications.
Learn more about the Shapiro Administration’s efforts in combating the overdose crisis pa.gov/opioids.
# # #