Extension Opioid Crisis Response Workgroup Being Formed

The Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) has entered into an agreement in partnership with US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) (National Program Leaders, Ahlishia Shipley and Brent Elrod) to help coordinate the Land-grant University system's response to the opioid crisis. Several institutions have already identified evidence-based curriculum for replication nationally in response to the first ever Cooperative Extension Section Next Generation Extension - Learning for Leaders Web Conference. In this new agreement a set of 9 activities will culminate in the writing of a report for ECOP within a six-month period. The formation of the Extension Opioid Crisis Response Workgroup, a group of opioid experts from the Land-grant system will serve as a resource and provide input. Those with expertise and interest in serving on this workgroup are urged to contact Mark Skidmore (mskidmor@msu.edu) Director of the North Central Regional Rural Development Center, the lead coordinator for this effort. Last week, USDA launched a webpage highlighting resources to help rural communities address the opioid crisis: https://www.usda.gov/topics/opioids. Sourced from ECOP Monday Minute