June 21, 2016
The state of Pennsylvania and city of Philadelphia have been selected to take part in a program to help develop ways to battle the heroin and opioid epidemic.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) North America, a research center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), announced on Monday that Governor Tom Wolf's administration and Mayor Jim Kenney's administration will join the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the City of Rochester and the State of South Carolina in the program.
The initiative will test ways to increase employment, help people move out of poverty, expand opportunity for young people, and find more effective treatments for substance use disorders.
“We’re excited to work with Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Puerto Rico, Rochester, and South Carolina as they innovate to address some of the most pressing challenges facing state and local governments in the U.S.,” said Mary Ann Bates, deputy director of J-PAL North America. “The rigorous evaluations they proposed have the potential to generate important lessons, not just for these five jurisdictions but also others across the country.”
J-PAL will give Pennsylvania an $82,000 grant and technical assistance to conduct research.
“I’m thrilled that Pennsylvania will have the opportunity to participate in the J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative,” said Gov. Wolf. “Fighting Pennsylvania’s opioid and heroin epidemic is a top priority for my administration and we are committed to using rigorous evidence to find solutions to this urgent problem."
According to the Pennsylvania Coroners Association, 2,500 deaths in the state were attributed to overdose in 2014.
“I thank J-PAL for their generous grant. It will allow the city to take a thorough, data-driven look at our summer jobs initiative and see how it can be improved,” said Mayor Kenney. “This kind of grant funding is essential to allowing municipalities all over the country to critically examine their current practices and improve services for their residents."
A total of 25 governments across the United States applied to participate in the five-year initiative.
