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Destination Hope and Recovery presents navigator milestones, warns cuts threaten rural coverage
Summary
Robin Cozad of Destination Hope and Recovery reported multi-year recovery navigator activity (3,100+ referrals, ~2,800 unique clients) and six-month milestone tracking showing housing and treatment linkages; she warned cumulative legislative reductions could cut ~27% of staff, reducing coverage in rural counties.
Robin Cozad, co-owner of Destination Hope and Recovery and quality assurance manager for the Great Rivers Recovery Navigator Program, presented provider data showing more than 3,100 referrals and about 2,800 unique individuals served over four years, with 62,300-plus engagement attempts logged.
Cozad described a milestone framework that links program activities (outreach, warm handoffs, transportation) to intermediate achievements (IDs obtained, benefits activated, treatment attended) and longer-term outcomes (sustained housing, continued treatment engagement). She shared six-month milestone figures: 191 participants supported in safe-sleep planning, 154 who attained housing, 176 who maintained housing 30 days and 126 who maintained housing 90 days; 205 completed SUD assessments and 211 attended treatment appointments. She also listed benefits and identity supports and employment outcomes.
Cozad emphasized limitations in standard activity reporting and said milestone tracking is more conservative but gives better insight into client outcomes: "Referral into services does not mean that something successful happened necessarily," she said.
She and committee members discussed partner endorsements and operational pressures. Cozad said partner letters from law enforcement and public health praised the program’s effect on reducing crisis calls and hospital use. She warned that two recent funding reductions amount to roughly a 27% cumulative cut for her program, which for Destination Hope and Recovery would equate to losing about five positions and lower regional coverage: "Just the scale that that impact may have," she said, warning longer waits and fewer trusted relationships if staffing is reduced.
Committee members asked about tracking arrest‑diversion outcomes; Cozad said many law‑enforcement referrals are pre‑arrest or social‑contact referrals but are not always recorded as formal diversion, complicating consistent measurement.
