Alabama has drastically reduced opioid overdose deaths statewide—an outcome shaped by deliberate policy choices, improved data infrastructure, and sustained coordination across public health, law enforcement, mental health, and community partners.
This year’s Forum examines how those decisions were made, how information was shared, and how authority and resources aligned to support evidence-based interventions on the ground.
We will discuss what this experience reveals about the role of state and local government, the value of real-time data, and the importance of cross-sector collaboration in addressing complex public problems.
The central question is not whether the crisis has ended, but whether Alabama can institutionalize what worked and apply this model to other urgent challenges facing the state.
