About the SE Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Center

Florida State University College of Social Work’s Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families, and Children (CFC Center) received a two-year federal grant, funding the Southeast Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Center (ROTA-RC). Under the grant, the CFC Center is partnering with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Cooperative Extension Program and Department of Social Work to assist in the outreach, education and engagement of rural communities in the region.

ROTA-RC seeks to develop and disseminate training and technical assistance to address opioid and stimulant use affecting rural communities in the eight states in Region 4. ROTA-R will expand awareness of opioid and stimulate use, harm reduction, and options for treatment to improve the resiliency of the targeted 168 rural communities.

To achieve the goals of the project, the Consortium will work in the rural counties to increase awareness and understanding on the factors that engender opioid and stimulant misuse, and work with local governments to increase prevention and treatment services by deploying opioid settlement funds toward evidence-based programs.

ROTC-RC Goals

ROTA-RC Goals Graphic
  • GOAL 1 100% 100%

Expand SAMHSA Florida Consortium to the Southeastern Higher Education Rural Opioid Consortium

  • GOAL 2 100% 100%

Conduct needs assessments in counties to identify needs for prevention, intervention, treatment, & recovery services.

  • GOAL 3 100% 100%

Collaborate to provide evidencebased training on opioid misuse, OUD, & stimulant use disorder, prevention, harm reduction approaches, treatment, & recovery services.

  • GOAL 4 100% 100%

Develop an array of consultations, trainings, & technical assistance on mental health approaches to enhance resilience in stressful events that contribute to opioid & stimulant misuse.

Providing Accessible Harm Reduction Resources

“Programs implementing harm reduction services and other activities in support of the health and wellness of people who use drugs, should have easy access to resources and help.”
(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022)

Education and technical assistance through outreach services has been proven to dramatically decrease fatalities related to chronic diseases such as HIV/HCV, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), and life-threatening infections from unsterile needle use.<

Identifying gaps and barriers to services and/or other preventative resources to gain the most effective and efficient implementation strategies is key.

Harm reduction services make life saving resources available and accessible to all and help establish strong community ties to support systems by offering access to HEALTHCARE, SOCIAL & MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, and SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT.

Among the entire population aged 12 or older in 2020, 3.3 percent misused prescription pain relievers in the past year. An estimated 3.1 percent of people aged 12 or older in 2020 misused a prescription opioid in the past year, including (but not limited to) any of the 11 subtypes of prescription opioids.

Harm reduction also plays a key role in prevention of unintentional drug-related overdose and/or death.