News

Sara Goldsby, State Director for South Carolina, testifies before Senate HELP Committee

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On February 1st, Sara Goldsby (SSA, S.C.), Director of the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS), as well as President of NASADAD’s Board of Directors, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee during a hearing, “Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Responding to the Growing Crisis.” The HELP Committee is led by Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-N.C.).

 

Ms. Goldsby’s testimony covered the following areas:

  • The critical role State alcohol and drug agencies play in overseeing and implementing a coordinated prevention, treatment, and recovery service system
  • Working to support providers to ensure quality and delivery of evidence-based practices
  • Coordinating with other State agencies on programs and services across prevention, treatment, and recovery
  • Communicating with, and acquiring input from, providers and local communities and stakeholders
  • Efforts from the federal government that have been helpful in addressing SUD issues

 

Her recommendations to the Committee included:

  • Promote and ensure a strong SAMHSA that serves as the lead federal agency across the federal government on substance use disorder service delivery
  • Ensure that federal policy and resources related to substance use disorders are routed through the State alcohol and drug agency
  • Continued investments in the SAPT Block Grant while maintaining maximum flexibility
  • Promote sustained and predictable funds through three- to five-year discretionary grants
  • Ensure new federal initiatives and funding complement and enhance the current system
  • Continue to work to address the opioid crisis but also elevate efforts to address all substance use disorders, including those linked to alcohol and other substances
  • Provide SAMHSA the authority and resources to help address the nation’s substance use disorder workforce crisis
  • Ensure that initiatives designed to implement 988 and crisis services improvement to specifically include programs and strategies to address substance use disorders
  • Maintain recent flexibilities to ensure access to substance use disorder services

 

Other witnesses included:

  • Mitch Prinstein, PhD, ABPP, Chief Science Officer, American Psychological Association, Chapel Hill, NC
  • Michelle P. Durham, MD, MPH, FAPA, DFAACAP, Vice Chair of Education, Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Pediatrics, Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
  • Jennifer D. Lockman, PhD, CEO, Centerstone Research Institute, Nashville, TN
  • Claire Rhyneer, Mental Health Youth Advocate, Anchorage, AK

 

If you missed the hearing and would like to watch it, a recording is available here.

News, Public View

NASADAD releases updated FY 22 appropriations overview

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On October 18th, the Senate Appropriations Committee, led by Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL), released the report to accompany the FY 2022 (Oct. 1, 2021-Sept. 30, 2022) Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The bill includes funding for all HHS programs, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

 

The appropriations chart can be accessed here.

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NASADAD releases updated SAPT Block Grant Prevention Set-Aside Fact Sheet

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NASADAD is pleased to announce the release of an updated fact sheet on the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant prevention set-aside administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The updated fact sheet includes the following:

  • An overview of the prevention set-aside
  • Data on substance use, including increases in use during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • New section on the value of prevention efforts
  • How prevention set-aside funds are used
  • Targeted prevention efforts
  • Prevention success stories
  • Recent investments in the SAPT Block Grant prevention set-aside in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Description of the role of the State Alcohol & Drug Agency

 

To view the fact sheet, click here.

News, Public View, SUPTRS Block Grant

NASADAD releases updated SAPT Block Grant fact sheet

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The NASADAD Policy Department recently released an updated fact sheet on the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The updated fact sheet includes the following:

  • An overview of the SAPT Block Grant
  • Positive outcomes of the Block Grant (i.e., abstinence from alcohol/drug use, stable housing, no arrests)
  • Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SUDs
  • Review of the COVID-19 relief packages
  • A description of why multi-year investments in the SAPT Block Grant is beneficial to States, providers, and individuals with SUDs
  • Recent data on the financial burden of SUDs and cost-effectiveness of investing in the SAPT Block Grant
  • A description of the prevention set-aside
  • Overview of the Block Grant’s role in bolstering recovery support services
  • Description of the role of the State Alcohol & Drug Agency

To view the fact sheet, click here.

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NASADAD releases updated FY 2022 Appropriations Overview

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NASADAD has released an updated appropriations overview to reflect the House Appropriation Committee’s release of several appropriations bills for FY 2022, including the Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Related Agencies funding bill. The document outlines the House of Representatives’ recommended funding levels for NASADAD’s priority programs within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

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NASADAD releases summary of administration’s fy 2022 budget proposal

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On May 28, 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration released their proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2022 (October 1, 2021-September 30, 2022). NASADAD developed an overview of the Administration’s proposed funding levels for the Association’s priority programs within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as select programs within the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The document compares the President’s FY 2022 proposal to the final FY 2021 funding levels and provides language from the Administration’s Congressional Justifications.

 

Access the chart here.

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NASADAD releases Synar overview

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NASADAD is pleased to announce the release of a new resource, “An Overview of the Synar Provision: History, Impact of Tobacco 21 Legislation, and Recommendations.”  This document offers background on Synar; a description of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) role in tobacco control; a review of the federal legislation that raised the minimum age of legal tobacco access to 21; the impact of the legislation on Synar; and implementation efforts in 2020, including those related to COVID-19.