Local News

Drug czar talks about state’s efforts to address opioid abuse

May 23, 2018

When fighting opioid abuse, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work, according to the man tasked with fighting against the state’s opioid epidemic.
“Every community will do this somewhat differently,” said Jim McClelland, Executive Director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement.
Many communities are bringing together people from enforcement and behavioral health, but every community’s approach will differ because their resources are different, he said. McClelland commended the efforts of Bartholomew County and Columbus to create a multi-faceted approach to opioid addiction prevention, treatment and the response by law enforcement and the courts.
“I’m incredibly impressed with the way you have taken this on. You’re doing it right,” McClelland said[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Indiana officials quickly learned how complex the opioid problem is, and as a result have set broad priorities that focus on the most basic premise of keeping people alive. Leaders from community efforts around the state are sharing some of their best-practice initiatives, which are being distributed wider in hopes that communities searching for strategies might build upon them, he said.
When Gov. Eric Holcomb took office just over a year ago, he pledged he would focus on curbing the drug addiction crisis in Indiana. McClelland was appointed by Holcomb in January 2017 to the newly created drug prevention and treatment position, and reports directly to the governor, while also chairing the Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse.
Indiana was ranked as having the 15th highest drug-addiction death rate in the United States in 2016, McClelland said. Drug overdoses killed 63,632 Americans in 2016, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.
A big issue in Indiana is a lack of access to treatment, McClelland said.
McClelland cited efforts around Indiana to help the state, including Indiana University’s $50 million challenge grant to prevent, reduce and treat addiction in Indiana over five years. Initial pilot grants will feature collaborative teams of faculty members, researchers, community organizations and cross-sector partners working on ground-level data collection and analysis; training and education; policy analysis and development; addictions science; and community and workforce development.
The state is also working with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce on the Indiana Workforce Recovery Initiative, which is a toolkit for employers to help re-engage people in recovery from addiction back into the workforce, McClelland said.
And the state added two dependency recovery initiatives from the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction in February. Residents also can now search for certified addiction treatment providers throughout the state on the Next Level Recovery website, which offers options based on location, treatment and age and gender of patients served.
McClelland is also working to compile and share information about evidence-based prevention programs in Marion County schools and the formation of voluntary recovery support groups, primarily in the northeast part of Indiana, that he hopes to expand to every county in the state.
State officials are expecting triple the amount of federal funding the state has received each of the past two years — about $11 million — to fight the opioid crisis, McClelland said. Indiana could receive more federal funds based on the higher negative impact on the state from the crisis based on its population, he said.
The state is focusing on prevention, to bring down opioid prescription rates, and also to prevent any use of addictive substances by young people by intervening in their lives as early as possible, McClelland said.
Part of the effort needs to be in strengthening families, which in turn helps prevent the use of addictive substances in the home, McClelland said.
After-school activities that focus on a child’s interests create opportunities to provide a feeling of accomplishment and progress to young people, something that can help prevent drug abuse, he said. And the state needs to look at some of the childhood experiences, such as physical, emotional or sexual abuse, parental incarceration and other risk factors, that lead to a greater risk for substance abuse, McClelland said.
Some encouraging signs indicate that the efforts throughout Indiana are starting to work, McClelland said.
The number of overdoses treated at emergency rooms are dropping statewide, as are the number of deaths, he said. Some of the spikes in the state in overdose deaths leveled off at the end of 2017, he said.[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="About Jim McClelland" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]Job: Executive director for Drug Prevention, Treatment and Enforcement for the state
Appointed: By Gov. Eric Holcomb in January 2017
What the job is about: Coordinating, aligning and focusing the work of state agencies toward substance abuse issues. Leveraging businesses, higher education, health care, philanthropy and faith-based services to respond to the opioid crisis.
Work experience: Served as Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana CEO and President for 41 years, concluding a 45-year career there in 2015.
Philanthropic work: Serves on the Dean’s Council of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, the advisory board of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech and the board of directors of Building Tomorrow.
Honors: Inducted into the Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame in 2009, received the Distinguished Entrepreneur Award from the Kelley School of Business in 2011 and inducted into the Georgia Tech College of Engineering Hall of Fame this year.
Education: Earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech and a masters in business administration from the Kelley School of business.
Family: Married to Jane McClelland, with two children and two grandchildren.[sc:pullout-text-end]