Important Change to SOR Grant Allocations for Salaried Positions

Hello, SOR Subgrantees!

Recently, some of you received emails from Patrick or me asking which job positions in your SOR II, Year 2 funding proposals are filled and which ones are new (or existing, but vacant).

There’s a good reason for this question. Close to two million dollars in allocated SOR II, Year 1 funding is expected to be returned to DBHDS due to treatment and recovery positions that were budgeted for but never filled. That’s nearly two million SOR grant dollars to be returned to SAMHSA. And, as you know, any money we must return to SAMHSA can negatively impact Virginia’s future SUD funding awards.

We understand that there are lots of good reasons that positions may go unfilled and we can imagine how frustrating that must be on your end. However, we’re receiving more SOR requests than we ever have before. So, it’s more imperative than ever that we make every effort to be good stewards of the grant money entrusted to us.

That said, going forward, any funds that we approve for already existing salaries will be paid out as usual. However, funds approved for new or vacant positions will be held back until we are notified that the position has been filled. If a position is filled within 30 days of the grant year’s start, the full amount will be allocated. Beyond 30 days, the budgeted amount will be pro-rated on a monthly basis. If needed, we will gladly submit documentation to your human resources departments verifying that money has been set aside for these positions.

Those of you who have approval to utilize SOR funds to support both existing and new positions will receive an email notifying you of your approved TOTAL budget amount. However, the initial SOR II Year 2 Exhibit D you receive will show your budgeted amount minus the salaries of any unfilled positions. When we get notification that you have filled a vacant SOR-funded position, we will send out an additional Exhibit D listing that amount with payment details to follow.

If you have any questions or need further clarification on this change, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Mike, Patrick or me.

Share your SOR Treatment & Recovery Success Stories with OMNI and DBHDS!

As we wind down the 2020-21 SOR fiscal year, DBHDS and OMNI are seeking your SOR success stories! We are preparing our year-end reporting and want to hear from you about how your SOR funding is supporting the services you provide in your community.

We have prepared a very simple survey that will easily allow you to share some of your SOR Success Stories, reflecting on the past year. There is also an opportunity to attach documents or photos.

To submit a success story, please click here.

Reminder: CSB/Agency TA Reporting Feedback Survey

This is a reminder to please provide input on the various agency/CSB-level GPRA reports and tools that OMNI has developed to support your GPRA work! Please provide feedback in our short survey that asks questions about four specific agency-level reports and tools. The four reports and tools are described in greater detail in the survey. They are:

  • Annual Agency/CSB-Level Reports

  • Monthly Progress Reports

  • Quarterly Survey Reports

  • Agency/CSB Weekly Tracking Sheets

We hope to gather feedback from any agency/CSB staff member that has worked with or used any of these reports or tools. Multiple staff members from each agency/CSB are welcome to complete this survey. We will use this feedback to improve these reports and tools in the future!

Thank you to those that have already complete the survey! For everyone else, please complete the survey by Friday, September 10th. Please click here or copy this link to complete the short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8YDKR9J

Quarter 3 SOR Progress Report

We are excited to share the new SOR quarterly progress report for Quarter 3 (April to June 2021). This report focuses on SOR prevention, treatment, and recovery evaluation activities for the state in Quarter 3 and includes data from quarterly surveys, GPRAs, and PBPS. You can find the report linked here or on the Reports page of the SOR Support website.

Thank you for all your hard work this past quarter! We hope this report can be used to showcase SOR progress across the state. Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback.

Last Call! Alert for SOR Grantees: Submit budget by 9/3/21!

Last Call for SOR Grantees: Submit budget by 9/3/21

From DBHDS:

ALL SOR grantees, this is a reminder to please submit your upcoming SOR budget by THIS FRIDAY 09/03/2021 for the 10/01/2021-09/30/2022 budget year. Thank you and we would love to see some come in early if possible.

For instructions on formatting, see this recent post: https://www.virginiasorsupport.org/news/sor-ii-year-2-guidance-for-submitting-proposals

BARC-10 Score Feature of the GPRA Survey

We wanted to make sure you all know about the helpful BARC-10 score feature we have developed as part of GPRA survey.

The BARC-10 (Brief Assessment of Recovery Capital-10) is a validated questionnaire that assesses an individual’s recovery capital, or the characteristics and assets that a person develops on the recovery journey from a substance use disorder. These 10 questions (Part H of the GPRA) ask about 10 domains that contribute to an individual's recovery capital. The BARC-10 can be used to support an individual's recovery process through highlighting current areas of strength and where they would benefit from more resources/support. The BARC-10 Information Sheet, located under Supporting Materials on our Resources page (and linked here), has more examples of how to use this survey in a treatment and recovery setting.

Completing Section H of the GPRA survey automatically generates a BARC-10 Score, which ranges from 10-60. A score of 47 is associated with a higher chance of long-term remission. You can track this score over time to see change in a client's recovery capital.

When completing a GPRA in the online system, check the box highlighted in the screenshot to receive a client's BARC-10 score included in an email to you. You can also add another staff member's email if desired, in the next question.

As always, please reach out to SORSupport@omni.org if you have any questions or concerns.

CSB/Agency TA Reporting Feedback Survey! OMNI Needs Your Input!

The OMNI TA Team would very much appreciate your input on the various agency/CSB-level GPRA reports and tools that we have developed to support your GPRA work! To gather feedback, we have created a short survey asking questions about four specific agency-level reports and tools. The four reports and tools are described in greater detail in the survey. They are:

  • Annual Agency/CSB-Level Reports

  • Monthly Progress Reports

  • Quarterly Survey Reports

  • Agency/CSB Weekly Tracking Sheets

We hope to gather feedback from any agency/CSB staff member that has worked with or used any of these reports or tools. Multiple staff members from each agency/CSB are welcome to complete this survey. We will use this feedback to improve these reports and tools in the future!

If you need a refresher or want to view the reports, they are all housed in your Dropbox folder. The survey provides more specific instructions on where to find these reports and what information they include.

Please click here or copy this link to complete the short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8YDKR9J

GPRA Administration Tips and Best Practices Resource Launch!

The GPRA Administration Tips and Best Practices sheet is live on our site! This resource lays out best practices and procedures for GPRA administration at intake, follow up and discharge. It can help you answer questions such as:

  • How do I reach clients for follow- ups?

  • What systems can I put in place to better manage GPRA administration?

  • How do I engage clients who have left services?

Thank you to everyone who came to the Community Forum held last month - much of the information discussed in the Forum has been incorporated into this resource! If you missed the meeting, the recording is on our website on the Trainings page or linked here.

Check out this document on our resources page here and reach out if you have any questions!

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#200.112 Per 2 C.F.R. § 200.112-1113 The Federal awarding agency must establish conflict of interest policies for Federal awards. The non-Federal entity must disclose in writing any potential conflict of interest to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity in accordance with applicable Federal awarding agency policy. Failure to adhere to these statues will result in immediate termination of funding.

Virginia’s State Opioid Response (SOR) grant is awarded at the discretion of DBHDS and SAMHSA. All recipients of SOR funding supports evidence-based prevention, treatment and recovery services to address opioid and stimulant misuse and use disorders, including for cocaine and methamphetamine. The SOR grant is not intended to be utilized as a long-term or permanent funding source. All SOR proposals must include a realistic plan for financial sustainability beyond the grant period.