Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP)

Contributed by Altarum,

Training and Technical Assistance Center for Peer Recovery Support Systems

America’s substance misuse crisis is a public safety and public health emergency that threatens the well-being of individuals who misuse drugs as well as their families, communities, and ultimately the nation.  Supporting the field in addressing this epidemic is one of the U.S. Department of Justice’s top priorities and, at the center of this response, is the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP).  Since 2017, BJA has supported innovative work through COSSUP grants, reflecting the tenets that a cross-system problem requires a cross-system strategy, and, therefore provides a key resource for communities through the COSSUP Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Program.  

 

Increasingly, peer recovery support services (PRSS) are an important—and sometimes central—part of the efforts to effectively address illicit substance use and misuse. As the COSSUP TTA Center on PRSS, Altarum believes that peer-based services are vital to the continuum of care for individuals impacted by substance use disorder, which is why we work with organizations and systems as they implement best practices and promising approaches related to PRSS, across all criminal justice intercepts and community sectors. Altarum is a nonprofit organization that supports federal, state, and local governments, as well as national and community-based organizations, to build a system of care that focuses on recovery, active involvement of consumers and their families, and multiple services to best meet individual needs and to strengthen and improve the health of 

communities.  We achieve measurable results by combining our expertise in public health and health care delivery with technology, workforce training and continuing education, applied research, and technical assistance. 

Technical Assistance (TA) is a process of ongoing, needs-driven support to enhance the effectiveness of programs and organizations in achieving outcomes. 

 

TA encompasses a wide variety of strategies including: skills, knowledge, and capacity building; consultation and facilitation; and supporting relevant stakeholders. TA can be provided in a variety of forms:

• Virtual and in-person training events
• Workshops
• Meeting presentations 
• Online resources

Altarum TA deliveries are provided FREE of CHARGE and deliveries are open to ANY PROGRAM, AGENCY, or GROUP! For our purposes, TA is about building capabilities of entities to advance PRSS and promote recovery.

• An Altarum team member is assigned to coordinate assistance for specific portfolio management that works with team members and outside independent contractors to identify desired outcomes of TA, discern the conditions necessary for successful change to occur, and determine the methods through which TA will be delivered. 
• Altarum TA is asset and strength-based, as well as collaborative and adaptable.
• Individualized TA is complemented and reinforced by universal TA offerings: group/cohort learning opportunities (such as webinars and CoPs), written tools, and digital products that further capacity building.

The COSSUP TTA Program offers a centralized online system for requesting all forms of TTA through the completion of a brief online application form (https://cossapresources.org/Program/TTA). BJA reviews each submission to match the request with the COSSUP TTA provider (or team of providers) with the appropriate expertise.  The process is provided to requestors free of charge. 

 

Contact the BJA COSSAP TTA Center Team:
Tiffany Lombardo, Project Director and Senior Substance Use Disorder Recovery Specialist
Tiffany.Lombardo@altarum.org 
Erin Etwaroo, Project Manager
Erin.Etwaroo@altarum.org 

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