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Law enforcement and peer teams urge state to restore $3M annual funding for Ohio deflection/quick‑response teams
Summary
Former chiefs, task‑force commanders and nonprofit leaders told the Senate committee that Ohio's law enforcement‑led Quick Response Teams and deflection programs that connect overdose survivors to care have expanded statewide and need restored operating support to sustain teams and their data platforms.
Retired police chiefs, task force commanders and representatives of the Ohio Deflection Association and service providers told the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee they support a budget amendment to restore ongoing funding to sustain deflection and quick response teams (QRTs) that connect people after overdose to treatment and services.
"Since 2017 more than 80 deflection teams represent fire, EMS, peer, behavioral health and law enforcement across the state," said Dan Malloy, president of the Ohio Deflection Association and a retired police chief. He described a statewide core data platform now available for all 88 counties.
Tom Fallon, retired Hamilton County heroin task force commander, told the panel QRTs document thousands of interactions and referred more than 20,000 Ohioans to treatment or services from 2015 to 2023. Fallon cited a Montgomery County study describing lower overdose deaths and presented estimated Medicaid savings tied to QRT engagements — figures witnesses attributed to local studies and program data. Cordata Healthcare and other vendors supporting data and care coordination also urged stable state funding to avoid the boom‑and‑bust cycle of three‑year federal grants.
Multiple witnesses asked legislators to include $3 million (an amount cited by testimony) in the operating budget to sustain teams, maintain licensing for data platforms, and preserve peer supports and naloxone distribution. Speakers emphasized that many teams rely on time‑limited grants and that interruptions would force staff reductions and program restarts.
Ending: Committee staff will take testimony under advisement as they draft budget recommendations; witnesses asked for ongoing line‑item support rather than short‑term grants.
