Government & Politics

Opioids: Turning the Tide in the Crisis

00000174-c556-d691-a376-cdd69e980000Day after day, week after week, the headlines in Northeast Ohio and across much of the country contain news of tragic loss: lives lost to opioids. It’s a problem that knows no bounds: geography, race, gender, level of education or income.The problem took on new urgency this summer as the powerful elephant sedative, Carfentanil, began hitting the streets. First responders armed with their only weapon, the overdose antidote Naloxone, have struggled to keep up with what’s become an overwhelming problem. It’s an issue that’s straining public and social resources. What has become clear is that business as usual is not going to fix the problem.WKSU news has been covering the unfolding crisis. Tuesdays during Morning Edition, the WKSU news team digs even deeper. WKSU reporters will examine what’s led us here and what might be done to turn the tide. Support for Opioids: Turning the Tide in the Crisis comes from Wayne Savings Community Bank, Kent State University Office of Continuing and Distance Education, Hometown Grocery Delivery, Mercy Medical Center, AxessPointe Community Health Center, Community Support Services, Inc., Medina County District Library and Hudson Community First.00000174-c556-d691-a376-cdd69e980001

Ohio’s New START Program Is Aimed At Families Affected By Parental Opioid Abuse

Ideastream Public Media | By Jo Ingles

Published March 22, 2017 at 8:37 PM EDT

With thousands of kids ending up in foster care because of the opioid crisis, the state is trying a pilot program to help children of addicted parents.

Attorney General Mike DeWine says what’s being called the START program will begin in 12 southern Ohio counties with some of the highest levels of abuse in the state.

“Ohio START is an intervention program ... that will provide specialized victim services such as intensive trauma counseling to children that have suffered victimization due to intensive drug use. The program will also provide drug treatment to parents referred to the program. The goal is to help programs fight their addiction in an effort to reduce the number of kids in foster care and decrease the reoccurrence of child maltreatment.”

The two-year pilot program, which begins on April 1, will be funded through a $3.5 million grant from the state’s crime victim fund.