Ohio’s mental health and addiction crisis is evident throughout Ohio’s communities, including in schools, jails, businesses, health care settings, children’s services agencies, and elsewhere. State departments, boards, and commissions work tirelessly with communities to address the needs of residents and to provide solutions. Unfortunately, operation strategies, spending, and program administration of mental health and substance use treatment and prevention efforts have become split across multiple state agencies that lack coordination and a clear point of accountability.Governor Mike DeWine commissioned the RecoveryOhio initiative to coordinate the work of state departments, boards, and commissions by leveraging Ohio’s existing resources and seeking new opportunities. While engaging local governments, coalitions, and task forces, RecoveryOhio’s goals are to create a system to help make treatment available to Ohioans in need, provide support services for those in recovery and their families, offer direction for the state’s prevention and education efforts, and work with local law enforcement to provide resources to fight illicit drugs at the source. To provide help from all perspectives, RecoveryOhio is composed of an internal state team with representation from several state departments, boards, and commissions. For additional advice and consultation on the best ways to improve our state’s response to this crisis, the RecoveryOhio State Team turns to an external group, the RecoveryOhio Advisory Council, who are Governor-appointed experts from both the public and private sectors with experience in the fields of treatment, prevention, recovery support, and criminal justice.
