This podcast episode features three guests from the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition, and Chatham County Government, to discuss their Community Data Platform that helps connect health and justice data for first responders as they treat individuals; it is the final episode in the season on Community-based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges.
In this Just Science podcast episode, host Dr. Lawrence Mullen talks with Kristen Lee, Lizann Roberts, and Tara Jennings to discuss their COSSUP-funded Community Data Platform. The three guests describe how the Community Data Platform in Chatham County, Georgia, helps connect health and justice data on individuals so that first responders can best meet the needs of people who frequently cycle through jails, homeless shelters, and emergency departments. They discuss the need for increasing access to community resources, in order to break the cycle of justice involvement and reduce the burden placed on first responders. The podcaster guests discuss why they decided to use data sharing as a tool for improving service to clients who have a substance use disorder, how they dealt with barriers such as data sharing and personal privacy, and how the program has impacted participating clients along with first responders and policy makers.