Leading Ohio’s efforts in substance-use deflection through expert training, data and technical assistance
The Substance Use Deflection Initiative is designed to establish center of excellence functions and be a coordinating hub for the deflection field in Ohio. A primary role of the Deflection Initiative is collecting, providing access to, and disseminating information on promising and best practices, resources, innovations, and programs that will promote progress, advance the field of deflection, and support teams around the state.
The Ohio Deflection Association, in partnership with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Center of Excellence’s Substance Use Deflection Initiative, is proud to announce the Deflection Data Collection and Definitions Guide. This guide will help diverse deflection teams across Ohio operate under the same standardized definitions. By standardizing terminology, it will ensure accurate data collection statewide and strengthen the measurement of outcomes, highlighting the impact of our innovative deflection efforts in communities across Ohio.
Substance Use Deflection Initiative Director Ashley Morgan says “We are proud to partner with the Ohio Deflection Association to support this shared framework for data and definitions. Aligning terminology across diverse teams strengthens our collective ability to measure impact and ensure Ohio’s deflection efforts continue to grow in clarity, consistency, and effectiveness.” Ohio Deflection Association Executive Director Tom Fallon says “This marks the first step in a meaningful partnership with the Substance Use Deflection Initiative. Together, we will formalize best practices and drive innovation in the emerging field of Deflection across Ohio, always keeping the best interests of the citizens we serve, at the forefront.”
Special thanks to our workgroup: Jaime McMillan, Meagan Guthrie, Sarah Coyne, Jessica Jennings, Jennifer Whitman, and Nicole Jenkins.
The following toolkit and materials reflect the collaboration and shared commitment of many people working across Ohio to strengthen deflection and post overdose response. This includes ongoing support for compassionate, informed care for individuals with substance use disorder, including those at risk for brain injury.
Brain Injury After Overdose Toolkit
This toolkit is designed for deflection teams, first responders, and community partners to support individuals who may be experiencing brain injury after overdose. It offers practical guidance to recognize common cognitive and behavioral changes and adapt communication, expectations, and referrals to promote safety, engagement, and continuity of care.
First Responder Resources
Practical tools to support overdose response, harm reduction, and warm handoffs to care, designed for use in the field or immediately after an encounter.
Deflection Team Resources
Tools to support outreach, engagement, and care coordination for individuals impacted by substance use and overdose, including guidance to support warm handoffs and respond to possible brain injury.
Brain Injury Support for Individuals After an Overdose
Resources to help you stay safe, get support, and find next steps after an overdose. You don’t have to have everything figured out — these tools can help you connect to care, supplies, and support when you’re ready.
Launched in honor of National Day of Deflection, our new Quick Start Guide: Building or Strengthening a Deflection Team is designed to help communities build or strengthen deflection teams. This step-by-step tool offers actionable guidance across key areas, from team assembly and funding to data and sustainability.
Download the guide and take your next step in connecting people to care, not custody.
A priority upon establishing the Substance Use Deflection Initiative was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape of deflection efforts by conducting an inventory of deflection teams across Ohio. Between January and August 2024, 64 semi-structured interviews were conducted with deflection teams from 58 counties. Areas of focus included team leadership, staffing, funding, response models, goals, and sustainability planning. This report, titled The Hard Work Done Every Day by Ohio Substance Use Deflection Teams: Findings from the 2024 Deflection Inventory will guide the SUDI goals and strategic planning and help support and coordinate the deflection efforts throughout the state.
To accompany the full report, we’ve developed What Ohio’s Deflection Teams Are Telling Us: Findings from the 2024 Ohio Deflection Inventory, a one-page summary that highlights key themes and statewide insights. This snapshot captures what we heard from the field, including strengths, challenges, and opportunities to strengthen and sustain deflection efforts across Ohio.
The Substance Use Deflection Initiative completed a Quick Response Team Inventory of deflection programs across the state, and we have started to build a repository of materials generously shared by teams. The community has donated work to this collection in an effort to support teams just getting started, looking to develop or revise their own materials, and optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of their services. This repository is in the early stages and materials are shared unedited and with permission by teams.
The Substance Use Deflection Initiative has curated a library of deflection related literature to help increase insight and inform practice in the field.