Project Overview
To study how six states that received National Health Emergency demonstration grants from the U.S. Department of Labor are leveraging their workforce systems to confront the challenges of the opioid crisis.
The widespread and ongoing misuse of opioids has become a national public emergency, with more than 130 people dying each day from opioid-related drug overdoses. Research suggests that most employers feel their workplace has been affected by opioid-related issues, but few feel prepared to deal with them. State workforce systems can serve people in recovery, help to develop the health care workforce, and reach out to employers to address the opioid crisis in local communities. It is important to document states’ innovative approaches to addressing economic and workforce-related impacts of the opioid crisis, including an account of implementation challenges and promising practices, so that promising programs can be scaled up and replicated in other parts of the country.
Social Policy Research Associates, the Chief Evaluation Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
Specifically, states could use the grants to provide employment services to people affected by the opioid crisis, put in place employer supports for people in recovery from opioid use disorder, and develop the health care workforce to help address the opioid crisis. This study aims to produce information that will be of practical assistance to the state National Health Emergency grantees, the broader workforce system, and other practitioner communities.
Evidence & Insights From This Project
The Role of the Workforce System in Addressing the Opioid Crisis: A Review of the Literature
This literature review was conducted as part of an evaluation of the National Health Emergency demonstration grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to states that using their workforce systems to address problems presented by the opioid crisis.
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