Just Outreach Teams For Substance Use In Rural Nevada

Just Science

In episode six of our Community-based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges season, Just Science sits down with Dr. Terry Kerns, Substance Abuse Law Enforcement Coordinator of the Nevada Office of the Attorney General, Dr. Katie Snider, owner of Justice Research LLC, and DJ Mills, Director of Mental Health and Deflection Programs at the Nye Communities Coalition, to discuss their COSSUP-funded MOST and FASTT programs, which help bridge the gaps between law enforcement and social services in rural Nevada. To address the needs of justice-involved individuals with a substance use disorder, there are several opportunities for intervention, including pre-arrest, at the time of a behavioral health crisis; and post-arrest, once an individual has already been incarcerated. In rural Nevada, the Office of the Attorney General has pioneered two types of outreach teams, which help support individuals at both points in their involvement with the criminal justice system. Listen along as Dr. Kerns, Dr. Snider, and DJ discuss how Mobile Outreach Safety Teams, or MOST, and Forensic Assessment Service Triage Teams, or FASTT, operate, the state and local impact of these programs, and how grantees have overcome implementation barriers. This Just Science season is supported, in part, by RTI Award No. 15PNIJ-21-GK-02192-MUMU, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, and by RTI Award No. 15PBJA-23-GK-02250-COAP, awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Both are agencies within the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.