Needs Assessment

The West Virginia Wayfinder is a statewide initiative designed to help guide the future of opioid and substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery, and support services across West Virginia through meaningful data, research, and community insight.

Following a nationally issued Request for Proposals, the West Virginia First Foundation has selected a West Virginia University (WVU) team, led by the West Virginia University Health Affairs Institute, in partnership with the Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs, and Data Driven WV to conduct a comprehensive, statewide Needs Assessment that will help guide the strategic and equitable allocation of opioid settlement funds across West Virginia. Together, these partners bring expertise in public health, policy research, analytics, and community engagement to ensure the assessment reflects the realities, strengths, and emerging needs of communities across the state.

The assessment will use data-driven methodologies to analyze the burden of opioid and substance use disorders, evaluate existing services and funding sources, identify gaps in care, and support development of tools that improve transparency and decision-making.

Key objectives include:

• Establishing a common metric to measure the burden of addiction at local and state levels
• Mapping current funding and service availability to ensure equitable distribution
• Identifying critical gaps in prevention and treatment services and identifying targeted solutions
• Creating a user-friendly public dashboard for transparency and data accessibility 
• Defining a standardized Health Return on Investment (HROI) for addiction-related services
• Participating in the development of a statewide interoperable network

Additional details, timelines, and engagement opportunities will be announced soon. Please check back for updates.

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