TOPEKA– Millions in financing for kid drug dependency avoidance will be put into Kansas neighborhoods where children are more at risk of direct exposure to opioids and drug abuse.
Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration revealed the financing Thursday, stating the Kansas Department of Health and Environment got almost $3 million from the U.S. Department of Justice to address issues with opioid and drug overdoses in the state.
The financing will be utilized in the KDHE’s All Hands on DECK program, which intends on dealing with Kansas neighborhoods that have compound abuse problems.
The task’s objective is to help Kansas children exposed to drugs, together with increasing public security and decreasing overdose deaths. Kansas people will be part of the task, consisting of the Iowa, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, and Sac and Fox people.
” It is important that we make resources and help offered to stop the effect of drug dependency on our children,” Kelly stated in the news release. “This financing will contribute in suppressing the generational effect drugs have on Kansas households.”
Opioid abuse has actually been a growing issue in the state. A September KDHE report on opioid vulnerability reported a fast increase in Kansas drug overdose deaths over the last 10 years, with a 73.5% increase in these deaths from 2011 to 2020. Over half of overdose deaths in 2020 related to opioids. Of these 254 opioid deaths, 64.3% included artificial opioids, such as fentanyl.
Stats launched by KDHE in a 2021 summary revealed a comparable boost in opioid cases and drug- associated deaths. In 2021, Kansas had the greatest number of drug- associated deaths tape-recorded in the last twenty years, with opioid cases almost doubling in between 2020 and 2021.
The number of unintentional deaths triggered by drugs went from 432 cases in 2020 to 635 cases in 2021 Opioids were associated with 416 of these deaths in 2021, compared to 239 comparable deaths in 2020. Kansas counties most at risk of opioid overdoses consisted of Labette, Sedgwick, Allen, Harper, Crawford, Brown, Wilson, Leavenworth, Shawnee, Douglas and Atchison, together with a number of others.
Kelly’s workplace approximated that 140,860 children throughout the state cope with caretakers who have compound abuse problems, which about 5,155 Kansas babies are born exposed to compounds every year. Children maturing in drug- threatened environments are most likely to deal with health problems, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and likewise most likely to experience compound abuse problems, according to Kelly’s workplace.
” This essential All Hands on DECK financing is a financial investment in Kansas children and a lifeline for member of the family with compound usage condition,” KDHE State Health Officer Joan Duwve stated in the news release. “The funds will supply the assistance required to carry out DECK unions in 6 financed neighborhoods and will help to boost education and awareness of drug- threatened children in Kansas.”
See PreventOverdoseKS.org for resources, epidemiological information and details on Kansas’ efforts to avoid drug overdose. Those in requirement of support can call Kansas’ SUD hotline at (866) 645-8216 or check out FindTreatment.gov to find treatment services.