Around the Agencies

• GAO report suggests HHS develop comprehensive approach to healthcare workforce development
• SAMHSA seeks comments on National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
• SAMHSA seeks comments on updated Synar reporting questions and format

In the News

• Pew Charitable Trusts article outlines support and resistance surrounding medication-assisted treatment

Upcoming Events

• Faces & Voices of Recovery announce two webinars discussing mobilization of recovery community
• Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation announces webinar on using SBIRT to help teens with substance use disorders

News from NASADAD

• NASADAD sends letter to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy thanking him for participation at NPN Conference and offering recommendations for upcoming Surgeon General’s report on substance use
• NASADAD releases section-by-section analysis of Appropriations to Address the Heroin and Opioid Drug Abuse Epidemic (S. 2423)

Around the Agencies

GAO report suggests HHS develop comprehensive approach to healthcare workforce development
A U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released last week suggests that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) develop a comprehensive plan for healthcare workforce development. The report finds that HHS currently lacks comprehensive planning and oversight for its seventy-two healthcare workforce programs, and suggests that existing programs may not be sufficient in addressing the nation’s health care workforce needs. The GAO asserts that HHS’s current strategy does not effectively coordinate its agencies and associated stakeholders, leading to inadequate performance measures for tracking the growth of the country’s healthcare workforce.  According to the report, HHS’s largest workforce development programs unsuccessfully target areas of workforce need, including primary and rural care providers. The GAO recommends that “HHS develop a comprehensive and coordinated planning approach that includes performance measures, identifies any gaps between its workforce programs and national needs, and identifies actions to close these gaps.”

Read the full report here.

SAMHSA seeks comments on National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is requesting comments as it revises its National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) program.  SAMHSA plans to conduct independent literature searches in different program areas related to substance use disorders and mental illness.  However, according to SAMHSA, due to limited resources, they will have to prioritize the number of categories they can work on.  In addition to categories listed by SAMHSA, there is a section where respondents may add additional ideas.

Please visit here for more information.

Comments are due to SAMHSA by January 29.  If your agency submits comments, NASADAD would appreciate seeing your ideas and recommendations by January 22^nd. Comments can be sent to Shalini Wickramatilake-Templeman at swickramatilake@nasadad.org. NASADAD will then work with leadership to determine whether the Association will offer comments.

SAMHSA seeks comments on updated Synar reporting questions and format
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) is currently seeking comments on proposed changes to the Annual Synar Report. Synar Reports require State agencies to submit information describing the enforcement of laws regulating tobacco products. The proposed changes clarify reporting requirements for States in an effort to decrease the need for supplemental questions once the reports have been submitted. New questions regarding State reporting protocols and methodologies have been added to bolster communication between SAMHSA and State agencies.

To see the Notice, please visit here.

Comments are due to SAMHSA by February 26^th to Summer King, SAMHSA Reports Clearance Officer, Room 2–1057, One Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857, or email a copy to: summer.king@samhsa.hhs.gov

If your agency submits comments, NASADAD would appreciate seeing your recommendations, or being CC’d on letters sent to SAMHSA by February 19^th (swickramatilake@nasadad.org).  NASADAD will then work with leadership to determine whether the Association will offer comments.

In the News

Pew Charitable Trusts article outlines support and resistance surrounding medication-assisted treatment
The Pew Charitable Trusts released an article last week on barriers to the provision of medication-assisted treatment. The article states that despite evidence of treatment success, medications such as buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone remain unavailable at more than two-thirds of substance use disorder clinics and treatment centers. This lack of supply is partially attributed to the societal stigma labeling substance use disorders as a moral failing rather than a medical problem. The article highlights several other factors contributing to the lack of access to medication-assisted treatment, including too few health care professionals specializing in substance use disorder treatment, limited insurance coverage through both private insurers and State Medicaid programs, and profit concerns of private residential facilities. The article concludes with an overview of the existing State and federal statutes regulating medications used in treatment programs.

Read the full article here.

Upcoming Events

Faces & Voices of Recovery announce two webinars discussing mobilization of recovery community
Faces & Voices of Recovery (FAVOR) has announced two webinars on the mobilization of the recovery community. The first webinar will be held on Thursday, January 21^st from 3-4PM EST, and will feature commentary from Shannon Egan, Director of Communications and Development at Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness (USARA), on how to best utilize social media for recovery community awareness campaigns. The second webinar will be held on Thursday, February 18 from 3-4 PM EST, and will discuss the organization of the recovery community into a voting constituency for the November 2016 elections. Laszlo Jaress, Program Development Coordinator at Faces & Voices of Recovery, will speak during the webinar on the importance of making the recovery community’s voice heard.

Register for the January 21^st webinar here.

Register for the February 18^th webinar here.

Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation announces webinar on using SBIRT to help teens with substance use disorders
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation has announced a webinar focusing on the use of evidence-based screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) to help teens with substance use disorders.  Ken Winters, PhD, Research Psychologist and Advisor at the Institute for Translational Research in Children’s Mental Health at the University of Minnesota will lead the discussion. Dr. Winters will review his Teen Intervene SBIRT model that integrates cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing into the treatment regimen. The webinar will be held on Thursday, January 28^th from 1-2 PM EST.

Register for the free webinar here.

News from NASADAD

NASADAD sends letter to Surgeon General Vivek Murthy thanking him for participation at NPN Conference and offering recommendations for upcoming Surgeon General’s report on substance use
Last week the NASADAD Board of Directors sent a letter to United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy thanking him for participating in the 2015 National Prevention Network (NPN) Conference in Seattle, WA. The letter expressed NASADAD’s gratitude for Dr. Murthy’s keynote remarks during the conference, as well as the Board of Directors’ appreciation for Dr. Murthy’s decision to draft the first ever Surgeon General’s Report on substance use, addiction, and health. The letter included Board recommendations for the report, which include highlighting the important role of State substance abuse agencies, and maintaining a dialogue with NASADAD members throughout the drafting process. The report is expected to be released this fall.

NASADAD releases section-by-section analysis of Appropriations to Address the Heroin and Opioid Drug Abuse Epidemic (S. 2423)
NASADAD released a section-by-section analysis of Senator Shaheen’s (D-NH) Appropriations to Address the Heroin and Opioid Drug Abuse Epidemic (S. 2423) last week. The legislation would appropriate $200 million in additional funding for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, as well as $10 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program for States with high rates of opioid-related primary treatment admissions. The bill would also provide $225 million in funding increases for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant program, $10 million for The Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Prescription Drug and Opioid Addiction program of the Programs of Regional and National Significance (PRNS) within the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAP), and $5 million for CSAP’s Recovery Community Services Program for the development of Statewide peer-to-peer recovery support networks. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) would also receive supplemental funds improve opioid use disorder prevention and treatment.

Read NASADAD’s section-by-section summary here.

Read the full text of S. 2423 here.

Should you have any questions, or require additional information, please do not hesitate to contact Robert Morrison, Executive Director, (202) 293-0090 or Shalini Wickramatilake-Templeman, Public Policy Associate, at (202) 293-0090.