In June, Governor Ducey said the opioid crisis constitutes a statewide emergency, and in the days that followed issued an executive order requiring better data tracking and sharing among health and law enforcement agencies, including those here in Maricopa County.  The goal: follow the crisis in real time and reduce preventable deaths.

So what is Maricopa County doing about it?

Limiting overdose deaths:  Maricopa County Correctional Health Services is using naloxone, an opioid antidote, to save lives and put inmates on a path to recovery. In addition, Sheriff Penzone is equipping his deputies with the drug and investing in training so they know how to administer it properly. 

Reducing cravings: The transition from incarceration back to the community is a very risky time for individuals. Maricopa County inmates receive Vivitrol, a drug known to reduce opioid cravings and dull the high that someone receives from taking the drug.  The first injection is given in custody, a few days before release.  Outside agencies handle subsequent injections.  This program is in its infancy.  Our Correctional Health team will track outcomes to see if Vivitrol is an effective means of treating this addiction, limiting overdose deaths and preventing people from returning to jail. 

Education: The Sheriff appointed former Drug Enforcement Agent Agent Shannon Scheel to lead drug education efforts which includes outreach to students with an interactive program developed by the Discovery Channel.  The county is also committed to education inside our jails, so we continue to refine substance abuse programs such as MOSAIC which teach people struggling with addiction the skills to replace their dependency with something positive. 

Maricopa County has developed a wide-ranging response to the opioid crisis.  Our hope is to use the tools at our disposal to help people survive and, hopefully, recover. 

My colleagues and I unanimously approved nine contracts that support regional solutions for homelessness. The contracts, worth $1.3 million, will fund programs that offer rapid re-housing and support services as well as emergency shelter.

Six new federally funded contracts recognize the need for homeless services outside of the downtown Phoenix area. These contracts will provide housing for approximately 50 individuals and, in the coming year, shelter for over 1,700 individuals.  

Three contracts will receive continued county funding, reflecting the county’s commitment to current homeless services offered at the Human Services Campus in Phoenix.  

Watch the video here to learn more as our Human Services Director, Bruce Liggett, discusses the new funding on the PBS program "Arizona Horizon."

A Maricopa County judge ruled last week in favor of the Maricopa County Stadium District and sent to arbitration the legal case involving the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chase Field.

Grady Gammage, an attorney representing the Stadium District accurately said, “Resolving this dispute through arbitration is better for the taxpayers rather than using expensive litigation.  We look forward to working through the issues as the arbitration proceeds.” I agree!

Last Thursday the AZ Republic published an op-ed I wrote answering some false statements recently made by those not familiar with the issues. Click here to read my article.

Summer Reading Program

The 2017 Summer Reading Program has officially ended. Our focus this year was to increase the number of participants that completed the program and encourage everyone to read 20 minutes a day, every day.

We increased both the completion percentage (32% vs. 30%), and the overall number of participants increased by 11% (86,150 this year vs. 77,329 last year). This program continues to help stem the "summer slide" (the tendency for kids to regress in their reading skills during their time away from school) while encouraging reading as fun. 

Thank you for helping make the 2017 Summer Reading Program so successful!

Food for Fines

I would like to thank all those who participated in our "Food for Fines" program! The Maricopa County Library District collected nearly 18,000 items of food and waived nearly $36,000 worth of library fines. The donated food is going to stock the shelves of local food pantries during the summer when they need it most.

Aizer (AJ) Avila

Our office caught up with AJ Avila while he was hard at work cleaning up from the most recent flooding out in the south east valley.  AJ has been a MCDOT employee for five and a half years and has recently moved into the lead position on the Preservative Seal Project as one of our seasoned technicians. AJ is one of the twenty-eight work zone crewmembers that provide daily traffic control support for lane closures, flood response and Palo Verde exercises. AJ enjoys spending time with his wife, three boys, and two girls. His hobbies include hunting, camping, fishing, muscle cars, barbecuing, and target shooting.  A big thanks to AJ and the MCDOT team for their recent clean up efforts!