National Association of Counties
WASHINGTON — The National League of Cities (NLC) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) today announced the members of a new joint national task force to address our nation’s opioid and heroin abuse crisis. The National City-County Task Force on the Opioid Epidemic is comprised of city and county leaders from across the country who will aim to enhance awareness, facilitate peer exchanges and identify sound policy and partnership solutions.
Counties and cities have recognized that the opioid and heroin abuse crisis has reached epidemic proportions. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, with more than 47,000 lethal drug overdoses in 2014. This epidemic is driven largely by overdose deaths related to prescription pain relievers (18,893) and deaths related to heroin (10,574).
“Our cities are at the forefront of the opioid and heroin crisis in America. It’s up to our city and county leaders to face this epidemic head on,” said NLC President Melodee Colbert-Kean, councilmember, Joplin, Mo. “This joint NLC-NACo task force will work with local community groups and public safety officials to combat heroin and opioid abuse, provide families with vital resources and help make our communities safer.”
“Counties and cities work together in communities every day to address some of our most pressing challenges. One of those challenges is the opioid and heroin abuse crisis that has reached epidemic proportions,” said NACo President Sallie Clark. “Addressing this issue is a top priority for local leaders because we see firsthand the devastating effects of prescription drug abuse and heroin use every day. Drawing on the expertise of county and city leaders, this task force will focus on achieving results on the ground and strengthening health, safety and security in our neighborhoods.”
The City-County Task Force Addressing Heroin and Opioid Abuse task force members include:
NACo Members
NLC Members
The task force will take the following actions:
As part of NACo’s Legislative Conference, NACo and NLC announced the creation of the task force on Feb. 22. Click here to watch a video of the joint announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40rfq2gVq7s.
<p>Counties are directing resources to programs, practices and policies to reduce the overuse and misuse of the criminal legal system, improve public safety, better serve residents with behavioral health conditions and improve communit
<p>Reducing recidivism through effective jail- and community-based services can decrease jail admissions and populations and improve outcomes for people with criminal histories.</p>
<p>Counties play a key role in public health at the local level, as the conveners of multi-sector stakeholders, administrators of federal health-funding programs, like Medicaid, and providers of many crucial health services for residen
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<h1>With <a id="naco" name="naco">NACo</a>, Saving Feels Better</h1>
<p>All matters pertaining to criminal justice and public safety systems, including criminal justice planning, law enforcement, courts, corrections, homeland security, community crime prevention, juvenile justice and delinquency preven
<p>NACo's Opioid Solutions Center empowers local leaders to invest resources in effective treatment, recovery, prevention and harm reduction practices that save lives and address the underlying causes of substance use disorder.
Congressional, federal agency leaders and national thought leaders will gather with county officials to discuss priorities for curbing the ongoing mental health crisis.
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