Here is the link to become a VDH naloxone partner and receive the medication at no cost to your organization: https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/disease-prevention/naloxonepartnerprogram. If you haven’t already become a VDH naloxone partner, fill out the linked application and email it to the contact provided. Feel free to copy Mike Zohab (mike.zohab@dbhds.virginia.gov) or Angela Weight (angela.weight@dbhds.virginia.gov) on the email.
SOR I and II CSB/Agency-level GPRA Reports Now Available in Dropbox
OMNI is pleased to share customized GPRA reporting for your CSB/Agency. Similar to the statewide SOR Annual Report, your agency report contains compiled GPRA data specific to your CSB/Agency from the entirety of the SOR I and II grants (June 2019 - September 30th, 2022).
CSBs/Agencies are provided with an Intake report. This report contains demographic and baseline characteristics of your clientele cohort.
Some CSBs/Agencies are also provided with an Outcomes report that includes demographic and baseline characteristics of your clientele cohort based on their intakes, as well as matched “outcomes” based on follow-up or discharge data so you can see how this cohort has changed over time. To ensure confidentiality in reporting and to allow us to perform statistical tests, there must be 15 or more follow-up or discharge client interviews in place to have an outcomes report.
Your report(s) can be found in your agency’s Dropbox folder. The SOR Support Team will also email your CSBs/Agency additional information about these reports. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to us at SORSupport@omni.org. Also let us know if you might be interested in having a larger community conversation about the report and the results.
Subgrantee Special Events, Grand Openings, Graduations, Community Stakeholder Meetings, Etc.
The DBHDS SOR Treatment/Recovery Team is scheduling site visits for 2023! We’re looking forward to seeing everyone and getting updates on the great work you’re doing in your communities.
We also want to make an effort to attend any special events or community meetings your organization will be hosting/participating in this year.
Occasions like stakeholder meetings provide us a more comprehensive look into the unique attributes and challenges of the populations you serve. And we’re often able to give helpful ideas and insights.
We also love celebrating your accomplishments and milestones.
Be sure to share those grand openings, graduations, anniversaries, health fairs and other noteworthy gatherings with us. Please email Angela Weight angela.weight@dbhds.virginia.gov the dates of any events you’d like us to attend. And we’ll do our best to be there.
As always, if we can help with anything in the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Urgent/Time-Sensitive Request from SAMSHA on FTS by COB 2/17!
DBHDS and SAMSHA have an urgent/time-sensitive request of all agencies/CSBs:
Please reply/email back the following information to SORSupport@omni.org by the end of the day on Thursday 2/17.
Are you distributing Fentanyl Test Strips (FTS)?
How many FTS/units have you distributed?
Do you have any outcome data on their use? (e.g., are individuals using them and avoiding overdose)
Please only have one person reply for each agency/CSB. Thank you in advance and apologies for the quick turnaround time on this request.
Response Needed!
Hello SOR Subgrantees,
If you haven’t submitted your SOR II, year 2 proposal yet, please do so ASAP.
If you don’t plan to apply for funding this year, please let us know.
Thank you!
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State Opioid Response Recovery Services Coordinator
Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Cell: 804-297-5457
SOR II, Year 2 Guidance for Submitting Proposals
Dear Subgrantees,
Earlier this week you received communication from our office (via OMNI) regarding proposals for the upcoming SOR II grant year (October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022). We admit that the post would've benefitted from a few more details. So, hopefully this one, in FAQ form, will answer any lingering questions about this-coming year's proposal process.
SOR II, Year 2 Proposal Process FAQs
1) Will we be submitting proposals for both treatment and recovery awards?
Yes
2) Is the SOR team going to give each of us treatment and recovery annual award amounts to create budgets around like they did last year?
No. Not this year. Given the effects of Covid on nearly all of our subgrantees' SUD programming, making this past year anything but normal, we determined that it wouldn't be fair to dictate amounts based on what was or was not accomplished during SOR II, Year 1.
3) Okay, so how much funding should we ask for?
Use last year's treatment and recovery award amounts as your guide. You may request up to 40% more than those totals, or, of course, less money if you choose.
4) What kind of format should our proposals be in?
Use last year's format. Separate out treatment and recovery programming into two different categories. (See the graphic at the end of this post listing what items fall into recovery and what are considered treatment.) Please include budget narratives and line-item spreadsheets. Do not include other funding sources in your ask. That just confuses everyone.
5) When are our SOR II, Year 2 proposals due?
Close of business, Friday, September 3rd, 2021. (Yes, we know that the first communication said September 1st, but we're offering two extra days.)
6) How do we submit our proposals? And to whom?
Via email. Send them to all three SOR team members. Mike Zohab, (mike.zohab@dbhds.virginia.gov) Patrick Wessells and Angela Weight (same email address format for all of us).
7) How/when will the SOR team respond to our proposals?
If we approve your proposals and have no follow-up questions or requests, you'll receive a formal notice from our office listing the treatment and recovery amounts your organization will receive. You'll also receive Exhibit Ds from the DBHDS Office of Management Services. Our goal is to have Exhibit Ds out by September 25, 2021. Of course, this is dependent on other DBHDS departments, so that date may vary slightly.
8) Speaking of Exhibit Ds, will they be the same ones as last year?
Nope. We're working on making the wording much more relevant and approproate to standard CSB programming. Stay tuned.
9) Will the SOR team be sending out the SOR II, Year 2 Notice of Award like in previous years?
Absolutely! As soon as SAMHSA sends it to us.
10) What about our unspent funds from SOR II, Year 1? Do you want those back?
Yes. You'll receive communication from the DBHDS finance department regarding any unspent monies.
Okay, those are all the questions I can think of that you may have about the SOR II, Year 2 proposal process. If I've left anything out, don't hesitate to email for further clarification. Mike, Patrick and I very much like hearing from our subgrantees and hope that our responses are timely and informative.
We enjoy working with each of your organizations and are so proud of the SUD work you all do.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Angela Weight
State Opioid Response Recovery Services Coordinator
Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services
Cell: 804-297-5457
DEA Mobile Van Update - Webinar in mid-August
This is a follow up to the DEA Mobile Van announcement to let you all know that a webinar covering this new development will be held in mid-August. For more information, please see the message from AATOD below.
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For more information contact Mark W. Parrino, MPA - AATOD President: info@aatod.org
As most of our readers know, the Drug Enforcement Administration released the final regulations with regard to mobile vans, operating under the auspices of licensed Opioid Treatment Programs on June 28, 2021. The regulations will take effect on July 28, 2021. We are grateful to the DEA for completing their work on this important policy initiative and have been working with the DEA over the course of five years toward this outcome.
The expanded use of mobile vans will extend the reach of OTPs in rural and other underserved areas of the United States. We have been communicating with representatives from the Department of Agriculture, which has funding to purchase such vans as long as OTP operators use these vans in rural settings (population – 50,000 or less).
We have also been in communication with SAMHSA, so that OTPs can gain access to purchase and operate such vans using SAMHSA funds in suburban and urban areas, serving individuals, who are not able to travel to OTPs.
In our judgment, the use of such vans will work well in correctional settings, where the vans would provide increased access to the three federally approved medications to treat opioid use disorder. In this case, inmates would be inducted through these vans and maintained on such medications until they are released to an OTP.
Additionally, we have been in discussion with federal agencies, which have jurisdiction in this policy area to encourage the use of satellite medication units, operating under the aegis of OTPs.
Unlike mobile vans, the satellite medication units are fixed brick and mortar sites. The use of such medication units is permissible under existing SAMHSA regulations. We are encouraging OTPs to work in conjunction with the State Opioid Treatment Authorities to expand the use of such mobile vans and medications units.
AATOD has a number of committees, which will be developing policies to make existing OTP regulations more flexible in a post COVID-19 environment. To be sure, we have learned that providing patients with additional flexibility regarding take-home medications and the use of telehealth services (visual and audio) also provided greater flexibility to our patients.
We also have our colleagues at John Hopkins/OTPs working in conjunction with pharmacies to have clinically stable patients get access to medications through pharmacies as the patient remains in treatment at the OTPs. We look forward to learning more about the success of this approach.
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We plan to produce a “How To” webinar with regard to the process of developing mobile van services around mid-August 2021. This webinar will aim to do the following:
feature speakers, who have been operating mobile van services for many years;
provide details on federal and state funding support in developing such van systems;
discuss the cost of purchasing such vans from leading manufacturers;
provide updates on reimbursement mechanisms to support the use of such vans for patients, who have Medicaid/Medicare eligibility; and
beginning the development of Best Practice Guidelines in using such vans to extend the reach of OTPs.
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In conclusion, the OTP system has new opportunities to expand access to care while preserving the comprehensive nature of how we treat our patients. It is understood that we should use our recently learned experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic as a means of providing more flexible care to our patients. We will also renew our interest in using telemedicine in inducting new patients to OTPs with methadone through telehealth.
AATOD will work with our provider and policy partners in order to make the best use of these new opportunities. We recognize that we may not always agree on how to achieve these goals through certain policy partners but our Association is extremely clear on the need to preserve the integrity of care while expanding access to care during a time when fentanyl use is on the rise and we are treating patients with greater opioid tolerance.
Contingency Management Training 3/30 at 11am ET Reminder!
Contingency Management (CM) is a type of behavioral therapy grounded in the principles of operant conditioning, a method of learning in which desired behaviors are reinforced with prizes, privileges, or cash. OMNI invites you to attend a one-hour training to help ground you in this method. In this training, you will:
gain a better understanding of just what CM is, its use in behavioral health, community, and justice work, and its evidence-based effectiveness in substance use treatment and recovery
learn about the stigma, myths, and misunderstandings of CM
get clarity from DBHDS on the SOR II funding that is available to support CM
get tips to incorporate CM into your current SOR II GPRA administration and processes
hear about how communities use CM in creatively effective ways
The Training is Tuesday, March 30, 2021, from 11am-noon EST. Please register by clicking this link. (https://omni-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsceuoqD0vHtLrXQGDRoc4TEvwplGIgiYu )
DBHDS Invites You to Join in a SOR II-funded Contingency Management Training with OMNI!
Contingency Management (CM) is a type of behavioral therapy grounded in the principles of operant conditioning, a method of learning in which desired behaviors are reinforced with prizes, privileges, or cash. DBHDS invites you to join in a one-hour, SOR II-funded Contingency Management Training with OMNI to help ground you in this method. In this training, you will:
• gain a better understanding of just what CM is, its use in behavioral health, community, and justice work, and its evidence-based effectiveness in substance use treatment and recovery
• learn about the stigma, myths, and misunderstandings of CM
• get clarity from DBHDS on the SOR II funding that is available to support CM
• get tips to incorporate CM into your current SOR II GPRA administration and processes
• hear from a community that uses CM in creatively effective ways
The Training is Tuesday, March 30, 2021, from 11am-noon EST. Please register by clicking this link: https://omni-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsceuoqD0vHtLrXQGDRoc4TEvwplGIgiYu
Recovery Housing Questions
DBHDS is looking for some info on how CSBs collaborate with recovery housing organizations. Please fill out this short survey (less than 5 minutes) by December 15 to help inform them. If you have further questions, please reach out to the SOR grant management team:
Mike Zohab - mike.zohab@dbhds.virginia.gov
Angela Weight - angela.weight@dbhds.virginia.gov
Patrick Wessells - patrick.wessells@dbhds.virginia.gov
Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZDWYZ8C