Community Drug-Checking RFP

5. Describe your organization's work in reducing overdose deaths in Vermont. Include, at a minimum, the following:

• The number of unique people at risk of overdose your organization served in 2023;
• The types of services provided by your organization; and
• The geographic location (counties and/or towns) in which your organization currently provides overdose prevention services.

*This question is required.

6. Describe your proposed community drug-checking program.

This narrative must include:

• The type(s) of drug-checking methods/technology that would be utilized;
• The anticipated length of time between sample collection and providing results to the participant;
• How results will be provided to participants, including in what form (written/verbal) and the specific information communicated;
• How substances will be collected, stored and disposed of, including security measures for location(s) of substance storage;
• What information will be gathered from and about the participants and how the information will be gathered;
• The number of staff needed for this program (both for implementation and for ongoing programming);
• The proposed geographic locations (counties and/or towns) in which this program will be implemented; and
• The physical settings in which this program would be implemented (examples: fixed site space such as an office, mobile, co-located at another organization).

This narrative must also include how these services will be provided in compliance with 42 CFR Part 2 Confidentiality of Records and 45 CFR Part 164 HIPAA Privacy Regulations. *This question is required.

7. Describe the needs assessment process that was utilized and the results of the needs assessment that were used to determine the project scope described in the narrative above. *This question is required.

8. Describe the anticipated implementation timeline for your program including major milestone completion dates. *This question is required.

9. Community drug-checking programs are required to provide the following minimum monthly data to the Health Department:

• Date sample was received;
• Town in which the sample was received;
• What the participant suspected the substance(s) to be;
• Color of the sample;
• What form the sample was in (examples: powder, crystal, liquid); and
• The results of the drug-checking.

Describe how community drug-checking results will be maintained by your organization. *This question is required.

10. Community drug-checking programs must collect the following evaluation measures:

• Hours of operation;
• Geographic accessibility, including mobility if applicable;
• Process of collection and analysis of samples collected directly from the public;
• Waiting time between the collection of the test sample(s) from the participant and communication of the results directly to the participant;
• Type and content of education materials provided to participants;
• Type and content of educational materials provided to the community and community partners to increase awareness of the community drug-checking program;
• Opportunities to reach additional participants;
• Number of staff trained to perform drug-checking;
• The staffing pattern utilized for the community drug-checking program; and
• Description of exchanges of information between the participant and the community drug-checking provider, including how results were communicated, how risks to the participant were communicated, and how the program tailored the information provided directly to the participant of the drug-checking results.

Describe how data for the evaluation measures will be collected and maintained. *This question is required.

11. Provide a proposed budget and budget narrative for your project. The budget may include up to 18 months of program implementation: *This question is required.

12. These funds are available to provide support for initial start up costs. Describe the sustainability plan for this project following this initial funding opportunity: *This question is required.