New evaluation of mobile crisis teams addressing overdoses in Indiana.

New analysis evaluates mobile crisis teams addressing overdose epidemic in rural Indiana

Posted on October 26, 2020 by Leslie Wells

INDIANAPOLIS – Addressing the overdose epidemic still plaguing Indiana requires a holistic approach from teams that combine different disciplines. New analysis from the Center for Health and Justice Research (CHJR) at the IU Public Policy Institute looks at what challenges these teams face, what can help them be successful, and best practice recommendations that can ensure these teams are ready to help Hoosiers trapped in addiction.

The Choices Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the Opioid Crisis Response Team (OCRT), both funded by the 2016 21st Century Cures Act and the State Opioid Response, partner clinicians with recovery staff and nurses to enhance access to and engagement with evidence-based substance use disorder treatment, particularly for opioid use disorder.

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Don’t have a data partner? You need to get one … now.

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Leslie Wells

CRISP Director Breanca Merritt and CRISP Policy Analyst Kelsie Stringham-Marquis participate in MPH Data Day at the Indiana Statehouse.

It’s a data-driven world and finding a partner to help in the process is critical to a nonprofit’s future, its funders, and—most importantly—to those whom the organization serves. Most nonprofits want and need to be able to show promising results to justify their existing efforts and their plans for future expansion. At the same time, staff members at those organizations also want to know that their hard work is making a difference. Having solid, reliable data can help them accomplish both of these goals.

But data can be intimidating, and many groups don’t know where to begin.

“Any nonprofit needs to start with solid questions and ideas about what they’ll do and who they’ll serve,” says Breanca Merritt, director for the IU Public Policy Institute’s Center for Research on Inclusion and Social Policy. “Data helps you answer those questions and make informed decisions.”

CRISP recently partnered with the Martin Luther King Community Center in Indianapolis to address community crime prevention, thanks to a grant from the Central Indiana Community Foundation.

After reviewing the research CRISP conducted, leaders at the MLK Center assessed their strategy and shifted their focus to young people. They used the data CRISP collected to secure a grant and create the Best Buy Teen Tech Center. From computers to a recording studio and a 3D printer, the new space lets at-risk preteens and teens explore tech-based interests, careers, and opportunities.

Merritt says the MLK Center project is an example of what embracing data can do for nonprofits—and she has advice for organizations that are just beginning their data journey:

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Election 2020: O’Neill students work to register, educate, and help voters

Posted on October 12, 2020 by Leslie Wells

A group of students stands with a sign that says Your Vote Matters — Students at IUPUI, including O’Neill IUPUI’s Kylie Dunlap (first row, second from left), help push voting registration. (2019)

graphic on how to get involved in encouraging voters

This election season has been different than years past for Kylie Dunlap. The O’Neill Civic Leadership major also works as a civic engagement assistant with IUPUI’s Division of Student Affairs. For the past two years, Kylie has worked hard to register other students to vote, lead events like IUPUI’s March to the Polls, planned debate watch parties and mock elections, and hosted voter information tables and events at the Campus Center.

“We are nonpartisan, so our main goal is to encourage everyone to vote—no matter what party they’re involved in, no matter their views,” she says. “We want to make sure everyone has the resources to vote.”

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Indiana voting machines are vulnerable to security issues

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Leslie Wells

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To register to vote in Indiana, visit www.indianavoters.in.gov through October 5.

On October 6, Hoosiers will begin casting their ballots during early voting for the 2020 elections. Most of the state’s 4.5 million registered voters will enter their selections using an electronic voting machine. But new analysis from the IU Public Policy Institute finds that Indiana’s reliance on older paperless voting machines poses security risks in the upcoming election.

Indiana is among just eight states nationwide using paperless voting machines for the November 2020 elections. While Louisiana is the only one of those states that is completely reliant upon electronic voting machines, 57 percent of Indiana’s voting equipment produces no paper trail to verify votes.

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Indiana Prison Writers Workshop provides creative outlet to inmates

Posted on September 28, 2020 by Leslie Wells

Behind bars, those serving sentences may feel trapped in a world far different than the one they left behind. By design, prison is uncomfortable and unfamiliar to most. Yet it can also provide an opportunity for growth, especially from programs like the Indiana Prison Writers Workshop.

IPWW is a 12-week creative writing program that serves men in four Indiana correctional facilities. Since it began in 2017, 84 men have participated in the program. IPWW’s goal is to give these men an outlet for expression and help them improve communication skills before they reenter society.

But does it work? A team with the Center for Health and Justice Research at the IU Public Policy Institute partnered with IPWW and the Indiana Department of Correction to find out.

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