Public Safety Solutions for SUD ECHO
Program Description
Substance use disorders (SUD) and overdoses are at an all-time high (Centers for Disease Control, 2021). Public safety professionals often find themselves to be the first point of contact for someone who is experiencing an overdose or engaging in a substance related-risky behavior (e.g., impaired driving, property crime). This program is intended to build public safety professionals’ capacity in successfully responding to substance use and substance use disorders in their day-to-day work. This will include recognizing substance use, brief screening, referring or transporting to the appropriate point of care, and preventing or responding to overdose. Public Safety attendees will also learn how evidence-based approaches to behavioral health challenges, can promote officer wellness and reduce burnout.
Who is this ECHO for?
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- Law enforcement
- Court personnel
- Fire and EMS personnel
- Community corrections (e.g., probation, parole)
- Dispatchers
- Re-entry professionals (i.e., correctional staff specializing in re-entry services)
- All other first responders
Learning Objectives
- Describe signs and symptoms of substance use and substance use disorders encountered by public safety professionals.
- Explain the intersection of substance use disorders and criminal justice involvement.
- Compare and contrast models for substance use-related interventions that can be conducted by public safety professionals.
- Describe strategies for successful transitions from the community to substance use disorder treatment or other behavioral healthcare services.
- Implement evidence-based substance use disorder-related interventions in one’s daily work, as needed.
The Center for Substance Use Training & Telementoring (C-STAT), a division of the Be Well Institute at UT Health San Antonio, is an approved continuing education provider by the Texas Certification Board (Board #2080-21). This course qualifies for one (1) hour-credit toward the following credentials: RSPS, RSS, PSS, and other TCB certifications. Certicates from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) are also distributed through the Department of Emergency Health Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio.
Watch our most recent session:


Public Safety ECHO
This Public Safety ECHO meets every second Thursday of every month.
Hub Team

Brandon Del Pozo, PhD, MPA, MA,
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Public Health, Brown University

Jeremiah Goulka, JD
SHIELD Training Initiative, Executive Director

Cynthia Mendiola, MSW, LCDC
US Probation Officer, Retired
Core Correctional Solutions, Instructor

Dr. David Miramontes, MD, FACEP, FAEMS
San Antonio Fire Department, Medical Director
UT Health San Antonio, Clinical Assistant Professor
This initiative is supported by Texas Targeted Opioid Response, a public health initiative operated by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission through federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant award number HHS001046900001.