The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) is a multi-year opioid-focused initiative by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality of substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD), in rural communities at the highest risk for SUD. This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the RCORP-Implementation. RCORP-Implementation will advance RCORP’s overall goal by strengthening and expanding SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery service delivery in high-risk rural communities. By expanding the options for SUD/OUD services across the care spectrum, RCORP-Implementation will help rural residents access treatment and move towards recovery.
In 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initiated a comprehensive effort to empower local communities to combat the opioid crisis through a Five-Point Strategy. In alignment with the HHS Five-Point Strategy, and as part of RCORP, RCORP-Implementation award recipients will implement robust, evidence-based interventions and promising practice models to expand access to, and strengthen the quality of, SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services in high-risk rural communities. (See Appendix B for resources to identify appropriate models)
You are required to align your application with the following RCORP-Implementation focus areas:
? Prevention: Reducing the occurrence and associated risk of OUD among new and at-risk users (including polysubstance users), as well as fatal opioid-related overdoses, and promoting infectious disease detection through activities such as community and provider education, harm reduction strategies, and referral to treatment and recovery support services.
? Treatment: Implementing or expanding access to evidence-based practices, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT) with psychosocial intervention, and eliminating or reducing treatment costs for uninsured and underinsured patients.
? Recovery: Implementing or expanding access to recovery and treatment options that help people battling OUD (including those with polysubstance disorders) start and stay in recovery, including ensuring access to support services such as, but not limited to, transportation, housing, peer recovery, case management, employment assistance, and child care.
HRSA envisions that award recipients will sustain programs beyond the three-year period of performance. In particular, it is expected that RCORP-Implementation award recipients will:
? Leverage other available opioid resources at the federal, state and local levels to maximize program impact;
? Expand the ability of providers to bill for treatment services;
? Monitor and evaluate the impact and outcomes of SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery activities; and
? Develop a long-term strategy to achieve financial and operational sustainability absent federal funding and address the future needs of the community.
In FY 2019, HRSA will provide support for additional programs to improve access to prevention, treatment, and recovery support services in rural communities, including additional RCORP-Planning grants and National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program (LRP) awards. For additional information on the NHSC LRP and sites, see Appendix A. For a list of current NHSC-approved sites, visit HRSA’s Health Workforce Connector. Please visit the NHSC website to learn how to become an NHSC site.
