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Supervisors Approve Motion to Prevent Overdoses for Youth Engaging the Child Welfare System
LOS ANGELES — The Board of Supervisors Nov. 6 approved a motion authored by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis and co-authored by Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath on preventing overdoses for youth engaging the child welfare system, instructing the Department of Children and Families Services or DCFS, in collaboration with the Department of Public Health or DPH, Department of Health Services or DHS, Department of Mental Health or DMH, and the Office of Child Protection OCP to expedite the training of staff and partners on best practices to identify substance use disorders and reverse overdoses, in addition to developing standardized assessment tools to identify behavioral health flags that could risk the safety of these children.
Between 2014 and 2022, Los Angeles County experienced a surge in its substance abuse crisis, with drug-related overdose and poisoning deaths increasing each year. Fortunately, in 2023, these deaths plateaued, marking the first reduction to 2013. Although better, the ongoing crisis continues to disproportionately impact Black, Latino/a, and White residents.
“Los Angeles County is focused on preventing overdose deaths and meeting people where they are with addiction treatment, including among young people entrusted to our care through the child welfare system,” said Chair Lindsey P. Horvath. “Through this motion, Los Angeles County will fill gaps in overdose intervention training and expand access to naloxone and drug test strips—tools essential to saving lives and meeting the substance use crisis head on.”
Prevention is critical, and identifying early signs of serious substance use issues can play a pivotal role in preventing overdoses – including in children engaging the child welfare system. To better empower a critical workforce of children’s social workers, DFCS partnered with the Department of Public Health or DPH to launch the opioid overdose and Naloxone administration training in 2023, to train DCFS’s workforce and partners on best practices to reverse overdoses for vulnerable youth. Through these initiatives, over 500 staff and partner caregivers have been trained over the past two years.
The approved motion, in addition to instructing DCFS to prioritize training and develop an action plan on assessment, calls for DCFS to collaborate and extend those tools and training to resource parents, and partners, closing any gaps on knowledge on substance use disorders and treatments, including offering training on using naloxone and fentanyl test strips. Furthermore, the motion directs DCFS to review existing referral pathways, and explore the creation of additional streamlined pathways to refer providers with the necessary interventions, including behavioral health needs.
Details: Read the full motion here, https://tinyurl.com/preventing-overdoses
Supervisors Motion Will Pilot Department of Health’s Directly Operated Substance Use Disorder Services
LOS ANGELES — The Board of Supervisors Nov. 6 approved a motion authored by Supervisor Hilda L. Solis directing the Department of Public Health’s or DPH substance abuse prevention and control or SAPC Bureau, in collaboration with the Department of Mental Health or DMH and Department of Health Services or DHS, to pilot DPH-SAPC directly operated field-based substance use disorder or SUD services within the next year. Currently, DPH-SAPC contracts with providers to deliver these services. This pilot will incorporate directly-operated field teams to expand the SUD capabilities of the county’s current field-based multidisciplinary teams.
For the first time in a decade, drug-related overdose and poisoning deaths plateaued in 2024, largely due to the significant investments in substance use prevention, treatment, and harm reduction services provided throughout the county. However, Black people, Latinos, and certain geographic communities like Skid Row and MacArthur Park, remain significantly impacted.
DPH-SAPC’s field-based teams will allow the county to further expand upon its offerings of critical substance use interventions, and increase access to medication for addiction treatment or MAT. MAT is considered key in treating opioid use disorders and other substances and is often coupled with counseling and behavioral health therapy.
The approved motion will identify existing gaps in substance use services, develop field-based services that prioritize communities most impacted by the substance use epidemic and increase access to county field-based critical substance use disorder services.
