HHS Announces $7.7 Million to Help People Enter, Stay, In Substance Abuse Treatment

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced 13 cooperative agreements totaling $7.7 million over 3 years to improve client access to substance abuse treatment and retention in treatment. The awards are designed to help implement effective clinical and administrative practices that will encourage people to seek addiction treatment and remain in the full course of treatment.

"Addiction treatment can only be effective when patients remain in treatment long enough to make it down the difficult road toward recovery and a productive life," Secretary Thompson said. "These grants will support efforts to help people get into treatment and stay in treatment until they successfully complete their program."

Awards are being given for up to three years by HHS' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The first year total is $2,499,974 to 13 applicants around the country. Over three years, the awards are expected to total nearly $7.7 million.

"Clinical and administrative practices can affect whether patients present for treatment and how long they remain in treatment," SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie said. "We need to reduce the time between referral to treatment and admission, as well as ensure that the immediate needs of the patient are addressed first. Only then will people engage long enough to begin a new life without drugs."

The cooperative agreements are part of SAMHSA's Strengthening Treatment Access and Retention program that will allow grantees to implement administrative and clinical practices using quality improvement methods such as performance monitoring. Practices to be strengthened include first requests for service; client intake, assessment and placement systems; and therapeutic engagement.

Grantees:

Project STAR-TEAM, Phoenix, Ariz. - $199,059 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with TERROS, Inc is directed toward an urban population. The project will work to improve access and retention by utilizing the evidence-based practices of contingency management and motivational intervention. The second year of the grant is expected to be $199,998. Year three is expected to amount to $199,903.

PROTOTYPES Strengthening Treatment Access and Retention Initiative, Pomona, Calif. - $199,456 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with PROTOTYPES Women’s Center, a treatment organization, will focus on improving the intake unit in an effort to improve both access and retention. The grantee will use both process improvement techniques and motivational interviewing. The project is expected to receive $200,000 in each of the second and third years.

Florida STAR Project, Orlando, Fla. - $200,000 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with The Center for Drug Free Living, Inc., will focus on redesigning client referral, intake, and placement. The project will employ process improvement techniques as well as motivational enhancement therapy. The program is expected to receive $200,000 per year in each of the following two years.

Redesign Engagement Strategies — Substance Abuse Services, Lee County, Dixon, Ill. - $198,187 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with Sinnissippi Centers, Inc. in rural Illinois will address quality improvement in their outpatient treatment programs. The grantee will work to improve treatment wait times as well as centralize intake. The project will utilize motivational interviewing in this process. The project is expected to receive the same amount in each of the two following years.

Increasing Treatment Access and Retention in New Orleans - $196,761 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse of the Greater New Orleans area supports collaboration with Bridge House of New Orleans, a community-based substance abuse treatment agency. The project will implement a continuous quality improvement system as well as motivational enhancement therapy and the American Society of Addiction Medicine Patient Placement Criteria. The program is expected to receive $197,179 in year two and $199,751 in year three.

Staff Training on Access and Retention, Boston - $200,000 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with the Boston Public Health Commission is focused on two Commission-run women’s treatment organizations. The project will employ motivational interviewing and contingency management in the grantee’s efforts to improve access and retention in these programs. The program is expected to receive equal amounts in each of the two following years.

Strengthening Treatment Access and Retention Project, Research Triangle Park, N.C. - $200,000 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with the Governor’s Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse is a joint effort of this agency and two community-based treatment organizations in a largely rural county of North Carolina. The grantee will implement quality improvement processes and also motivational interviewing to improve treatment access and retention. The program is expected to receive $200,000 in each of the following two years.

Women’s Alliance for Strengthening Access and Retention Services, Reno, Nev. - $200,000 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies at the University of Nevada, Reno will create an alliance between the university and a community-based women’s treatment organization. The grantee will streamline current assessment processes as well as implement motivational interviewing and "Seeking Safety," a program developed for substance-abusing women who also suffer from a trauma disorder. The program is expected to receive $200,000 in each of the following two years.

Addressing Co-morbidity, Access and Retention, Bronx, N.Y. - $194,940 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with the Vocational Instruction Project Community Services, Inc. will support improvement of treatment access and retention. The project is targeted toward the intake process and client-counselor relationship and will improve on these through the utilization of effective practices. The program is expected to receive equal amounts in each of the following two years.

The Mid-Columbia STAR Project in Eastern Oregon - $200,000 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with the Mid-Columbia Center for Living is a collaborative effort between this inter-county public treatment agency in Eastern Oregon, a consortium of treatment providers in 13 rural Oregon counties, the regional Addiction Technology Transfer Center, and a local research agency. The grantee will implement process improvement methods to improve access and retention as well as motivational interviewing and several evidence-based tools developed by Texas Christian University. The program is expected to receive $200,000 in each of the following two years.

Northern Rhode Island Community Mental Health Center, Providence, R.I. - $120,718 for the first year. The cooperative agreement supports the improvement of client access and retention through the redesign of intake services and development of a central referral registry. The center provides both residential & outpatient services, community housing & case management. The grantee is expected to receive $192,945 in year two and $195,900 in year three.

Strengthening Access and Retention in San Antonio - $199,606 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse unites a state agency with a community-based organization in an effort to improve treatment access and retention. The grantee will implement of variety of evidence-based quality improvement practices and treatment practices. The program is expected to receive equal amounts in each of the following two years.

Vanguard Initiative for Process Access and Retention, Arlington, Va. - $191,247 for the first year. This cooperative agreement with Vanguard Services Unlimited, will support treatment improvement to the District of Columbia metro area. The grantee will be targeting its intake/admission procedures for quality improvement and will also be using motivational intervention. The program is expected to receive $188,740 in year two and $197,498 in year three.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency is responsible for improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment and mental health service delivery systems.