Community-Law Enforcement Aligning in Response to Substance Use (CLEARS) Project
“Going into a room with law enforcement, being able to talk with them face-to-face without the distractions of a client there, it was way more than what I was hoping for. They were actually wanting to make that difference in wanting to make that change, and I guess, it’s not what I had seen before.”
-CLEARS participant
Background
CLEARS is a 5-year study through the Addictions, Drug and Alcohol Institute (ADAI) aimed at creating regional, co-designed policy solutions to improve interactions between people who use drugs and first responders in Washington State.
You can visit the CLEARS website here.
Goals and Objectives
- Develop regional solutions to improve interactions between law enforcement and people who use drugs through a policy codesign process, a process that brings together local stakeholders to build relationships, learn about their community, and brainstorm new ideas.
- Develop materials for future regions to engage in a similar codesign process and/or implement these solutions in their own communities.
- Learn how participants felt about the policy codesign process to inform potential future efforts.
READU’s Role
READU participates in CLEARS co design planning and facilitation, provides consultation on peer involvement in the co-design process, and conducts the evaluation at the end of each CLEARS cycle.
What is Co-Design?
Policy co-design gathers a cohort of stakeholders to work collectively on solutions to policy issues. The CLEARS study brings together first responders, people who use drugs, and researchers to design policy solutions collaboratively for their region.
So far, co-design workshops have been held in six Washington counties: Clallam, Thurston, Yakima, Grant, Kitsap, Whatcom, and Chelan/Douglas. The next co-design cycle will focus on Seattle and King County.
After each co-design cycle, the process and results are evaluated by READU. You can review the evaluation report for cycle 1 here, and the report for cycle 2 here.
Study Phase
In its 2025-2027 cycle, CLEARS will continue its next phase of co-design sessions in new regions across Washington.
Funders
Contact
Principal Investigator: Mandy Owens
Email: mandyo@uw.edu