JCOIN Rapid Innovation Grant (J-RIG) Program

The JCOIN Rapid Innovation Grant (J-RIG) program is a rapid-funding mechanism to support small research grants to study newly emerging policies, practices, or interventions that address prevention and treatment of addiction in justice settings. While opioids are a key priority for J-RIG projects, applications may focus more broadly on other substance use issues, particularly substances…

Read More

COVID-19 Testing and Prevention in Correctional Settings (045)

Through the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program, Yale University received a supplement to support a study to increase the reach, access, uptake, and impact of COVID-19 testing and to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 among incarcerated people and corrections staff. The initiative’s multidisciplinary team will be working with jails and prisons across Florida, Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Washington to address the urgent need for the development and implementation of long-term COVID-19 testing and prevention strategies. The long-term goal is to mitigate the impact of  COVID-19 in correctional facilities while considering the ethical issues that must be addressed to optimize implementation and effectiveness.

Read More

Community Network-Driven COVID-19 Testing in Vulnerable Populations (044)

The University of Chicago received a supplement from NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program to support the Community Network-Driven COVID-19 Testing of Vulnerable Populations in the Central US (C3) project to evaluate a COVID-19 testing approach that combines Social Network Testing Strategy (SNS) with community-developed public health messages. This study will focus on addressing misinformation, stigma, and distrust about COVID-19 testing and prevention among two populations that have been particularly hard hit by the pandemic: individuals involved in the criminal justice system that are not currently incarcerated and low-income Latinx individuals. The study will be conducted in rural and urban sites across Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana, and Illinois. The goal of this study is to address challenges of current COVID-19 testing strategies which are limited by misinformation, stigma, distrust, and limited affirmation of ability to prevent COVID-19.

Read More

Policy Surveillance for OUD/Justice/COVID (043)

COVID-19 threatens to exacerbate the ongoing opioid epidemic in the United States, but the pandemic has also provided an opportunity to experiment with changes in how opioid treatment services are delivered around the country. The current pandemic has resulted in a flurry of unprecedented policy measures, and it is crucial to understand the impact that rapid changes in law, regulation, and policy are having on individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD), particularly those involved with the criminal justice system.

Read More