Grant provides services to victims of opioid crisis

LITTLE ROCK – The Department of Justice, Office of Victims of Crime, has awarded a three-year grant to AFMC to provide services to children who are crime victims as a result of the opioid crisis. The program titled “Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis, Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims,” will focus in Howard and Hempstead counties in southwest Arkansas.

AFMC will be responsible for recruiting and leading a consortium of organizations called the “Substance Abuse Resource Assistance Coalition” (SARAC), with the common goal of coordinating services and activities that increase well-being, safety, and successful outcomes of children who are at risk of being removed from the home as a result of a parent’s substance abuse.

“The families of young crime victims who come in contact with the child welfare system often present complex problems including behavioral health issues, substance abuse and family violence,” said Ray Hanley, president and chief executive officer of AFMC. “It’s our desire to find these children comprehensive, family-centered treatment services to address the complex needs of families involved in both the child welfare and substance-abuse treatment systems.”

Community resources will be identified, and services coordinated for children in the selected communities via the Substance Abuse Resource Assistance (SARA) call center, operated by AFMC. SARAC consortium partners include the Arkansas Department of Human Services Office of the State Drug Director and the Arkansas Department of Health Hometown Health Coalitions. Cases will be referred to the program by local SARAC partners such as medical facilities, health care providers, law enforcement agencies, courts, schools and other community stakeholders and advocates.