Follow-up and Discharge GPRAs – What is the difference and when are each needed?

We’ve had some recent questions about this, so we wanted to share this brief post to remind you of the procedure for completing Follow-up GPRAs and Discharge GPRAs.

Remember that even though a client may be discharged from SOR services, and you may have completed a Discharge GPRA reflecting that, you still need to attempt a Follow-Up GPRA interview approximately 6 months after intake. SAMSHA wants to have two solid, anchored timepoints of data for clients: at intake and at 6 months via an Interview Follow-up, in order to evaluate change from one timepoint to the other for all clients receiving SOR-funded services. Timing for Discharge GPRAs varies, and occurs when a client is no longer receiving services at your agency. Discharge GPRAs are not considered actual Follow-up GPRAs.

Your Weekly Tracking Sheets in Dropbox define the open windows of opportunity for doing follow-ups and the running status of GPRA completion for each client. The Follow-up & Discharge TA sheet is very helpful for this topic. Please review and let our team know if you have questions!

OMNI Kudos to CARITAS!

In 2022, we have been sharing some shout-outs about CSBs or Agencies that are doing well with their intakes, follow-ups, engaging and supporting clients, and/or those that demonstrate a "spirit of inquiry" when engaging with our TA Team on GPRA administration issues.

This month, we’d like to highlight The Healing Place at CARITAS. CARITAS joined the SOR Evaluation in the summer of 2021. This organization provides residential recovery services to those experiencing homelessness in the Richmond metro area.

Since getting the GPRA intake survey fully embedded in their overall intake process for clients, they have had consistently high numbers completed each month. They have also demonstrated a spirit of inquiry and diligence in getting their follow-up GPRA process up and running – they review their tracking sheet regularly and connect with the OMNI TA Team with questions and concerns. We appreciate and applaud their ability to jump head first into the evaluation and sustain those intake numbers! Great work, CARITAS!

New Resource: Getting Started with GPRA Administration

We are excited to share a new one-pager that can be used by agencies or new staff members that are getting started with administering the GPRA. This resource provides an introduction to SAMHSA’s SOR grant, as well as information and resources to give to staff members completing the GPRA. You can use the one-pager to determine when to conduct a GPRA and start planning for administration at your agency.

We hope this will be a helpful resource. As always, please reach out to SORSupport@omni.org with any questions or concerns.

TA Tips to Supplement Your GPRA Tracking Sheet

Each week, OMNI uploads agencies' GPRA Administration Tracking Sheets to your Dropbox Folder. OMNI has prepared some  tips, ideas, and suggestions to help support your use of the Tracking Sheet and make GPRA administration smooth and timely!

 Tips:

• Reference the OMNI-produced Tracking Sheets in your Dropbox on a regular basis. Over the years, we have improved this tool with more columns and information to help you better keep track of your GPRA windows and due dates. Check them out! 

• Review and contact our team with questions or errors, or if anything seems to be missing or off (e.g., an incorrect Client ID or a duplicated GPRA). Use the SOR Website TA Request form to let us know about the issues or errors as soon as you discover them.

  • If you need to email us a client ID, please email using encryption.

• Remember that for every Intake GPRA, there should be a 6-month Follow-Up GPRA completed (hopefully an interview GPRA, but if client is not reachable, an administrative Follow-up GPRA). Even if a client is discharged from services before the 6-month mark, and you have completed a Discharge GPRA, you should still use the Follow-up Window open/close information to plan for and complete the 6-month Follow Up GPRA. Your tracking sheet displays all the timepoints you need to know about.

• Consider setting up a supplemental internal tracking system that could help you stay on track in terms of completing GPRAs or set up other systems to remind you of the timeline or window and dates coming due. Some suggestions:

  • Download and modify the OMNI tracking sheet. For instance, you could add new columns for client name, the date the GPRA is noted as complete in your system, and even a client discharge date.

  • Some agencies use a separate spreadsheet to keep track of GPRA by type, completed each month, with a running total for the year. This is not required, just another tool to get a sense of your workflow.

  • Some agencies have incorporated gift card tracking into the tracking sheet (e.g., date sent and amount) so it's in one place.

  • Use colors! You can highlight important dates or cases in the spreadsheet (e.g., GPRA's that are due) in a different color to draw attention or as a reminder that something is due. You could choose a different color to highlight rows or cells for a discharged client to remind you to continue to contact them for the Discharge GPRA. Or, highlight when a case is complete.

  • Use calendar programs to schedule follow-up reminders for you and your team. Be sure that the system used is secure if you intend to add client IDs or other personally identifying information to your calendar item.

  • Be creative! One agency invented a Word document prepared before a client appointment. They include date, client initials and ID#, contact info, birthdate, admission date, type of referral, diagnostic codes, MAT type, treatment type, and gift card amount. This saves having to jump back and forth between their online client record and the GPRA. For the GPRA, they enter the administrative information from the sheet before starting the interview. After use, they shred.

We created a resource that contains some of these ideas, too: GPRA Administration Tips and Best Practices

Our TA Team is available to brainstorm with you if you would like to explore any of these or other tracking options! SORSupport@omni.org

Recap of OMNI and CSB/Agency 1:1 Check-ins

This past January through March 2022, the OMNI TA Team scheduled 30-minute one-on-one meetings between one of our TA Team members and folks at each CSB/Agency! These were very successful on a number of levels.

• We made stronger connections with you all! We are all more than just an email address!

• We learned about some successes and challenges with GPRA administration and at your agency.

• We provided tips and tricks and documents to better support your important work for the SOR grant evaluation, including GPRA administration.

In many of our nearly 40 conversations, a number of consistent themes, topics, or questions came up. Here are a few we consolidated with our added TA to guide you:

• Clarification over GPRA Follow-up versus Discharge processes:

  • The Follow-up & Discharge TA sheet is very helpful in this regard. Please review and let our team know if you have questions. Remember that even though a client may be discharged from services, and you may have completed a Discharge GPRA, you still need to attempt a Follow-Up GPRA interview approximately 6 months after intake. Your Weekly Tracking Sheets in Dropbox define the open windows for doing follow-ups and the running status of GPRA completion for each client.

• Clarification over incentives and contingency management.

  • OMNI has a Contingency Management Training recording and slides that may be helpful in understanding the full scope of Contingency Management. Many tangible examples were shared during this training.

  • Page 3 of the helpful GPRA Administration Tips and Best Practices sheet provides guidance and examples of both incentives and contingency management.

    • Recall that completion of a GPRA follow-up interview can be incentivized with a $30 gift card from any store but cannot be exchanged for cash. Gift cards can be purchased with SOR funds and are managed by your agency.

    • If Contingency Management (CM) is used by your agency, it can be used to incentivize folks to continue to engage in services, which can support completion of a GPRA interview at intake, follow-up, or discharge. CM could include anything $15 or less.

• Reminder that the GPRA is designed as an interview survey only. After the agency completes the Administrative section, clients should be interviewed and may not fill out the GPRA themselves.

• To bolster client buy-in to the SOR evaluation and GPRA, the Engagement Information Sheet for Clients proved to be very useful to several folks we spoke with.

• We reminded folks of the helpful information OMNI shares with you in your Dropbox: Weekly GPRA Tracking Sheets, Monthly Progress Reports (stay apprised of GPRA numbers through time!), Quarterly Reports, and Annual CSB SOR Reports (for most agencies).

• We also reminded folks of our helpful SOR Support Website with any and everything you might need, including all the news you get in your email portal post digests, to a form to contact us for TA. Check it out!

As a reminder, GPRA intakes are incredibly important in continuing to secure funding. Please keep up the work on getting folks into the program!

Thanks to all for your input and participation. If you have any follow-up questions or concerns, let us know at SORSupport@omni.org.

SOR Treatment Community Forum on Understanding and Sharing your Data: Recap

Thanks to all who attended the 4/19 CSB/Agency Treatment Community Forum on data sharing. We enjoyed offering the time for CSBs/agencies, DBHDS, and OMNI come together to share and learn from each other.

If you were not able to attend, or want to review it, the forum was recorded and is available in the Resources >> Trainings area of our website. Here is a direct link to the recording, and to the PDF of the slides.

Here are a few links that we talked about during the meeting that you might like to explore:

• BARC-10 Information Sheet

• VASIS Dashboard

• SOR Year 3 Annual Report, aggregate Quarterly Reports, and prior reports

As a reminder, your Dropbox also has folders that contain your Annual Agency Reports, Quarterly Reports, and Monthly GPRA Progress Reports.

In the session, we also learned about how an agency uses the raw GPRA data. If you have interest in receiving this dataset for your agency, please let us know. We are also happy to answer any questions that came up for you after our session ended. Reach us at SORSupport@omni.org.

What is the GPRA and Who Should Complete It?

Our team periodically shares some basic information about the GPRA for new staff or as a refresher for current staff. If your CSB/agency has new staff members, this will provide a brief overview of what the GPRA is and when to administer it. New staff can also request support with a GPRA orientation from a member of the TA team.

What is the GPRA?

Virginia received a federal State Opioid Response (SOR) grant, designed to improve access and availability of opioid use disorder (OUD) and/or stimulant use disorder treatment services and increase the number of people who receive treatment for these disorders. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) is a required evaluation tool for this funding and is administered by Community Services Board (CSB) staff across Virginia. Client-level data are collected including demographics, ICD10 diagnostic categories, substance use and misuse, mental health and physical health functioning, and other key variables. A CSB/agency staff member must ask the client the survey questions in an interview format; clients cannot fill out the survey themselves. OMNI Institute provides training and technical assistance (TA) to CSBs/agencies to support them in administering the GPRA.

Who Should Complete a GPRA?

Clients receiving activities funded by SOR or working with a staff members whose position is SOR-funded should be invited to participate in the evaluation (and those consenting should complete a GPRA):

• Medication-Assisted Treatment

• Therapy

• Intensive Outpatient Services

• Peer Support

• Drop-In Center

• Peer Groups

• Child Care

• Transportation

• Vouchers

When are GPRAs Administered?

All clients should be administered the GPRA survey at three timepoints: at intake to services, six months after intake, and discharge from services. The weekly tracking sheet in your Dropbox folder can help you manage these timepoints.

• The intake GPRA is the first GPRA survey, completed when the client first receives SOR-funded services.

• The follow-up GPRA is completed approximately 6 months after the intake GPRA, even if the client has already been discharged from services and completed a discharge GPRA. The follow-up window is open between 5 to 8 months after the intake GPRA.

• The discharge GPRA is conducted when the client is discharged from treatment/recovery services. This can occur before or after a follow-up GPRA.

Additional Resources

• GPRA On-Boarding Guide

• GPRA Administration Tips and Best Practices

• GPRA FAQ

• GPRA Brief Orientation & Refresher Training Recording

• Intake GPRA Full Training Recording

• Follow-Up & Discharge GPRA Training Recording

Kudos to Horizon CSB

In 2022, we have been sharing some shout-outs about CSBs or Agencies that are doing well with their intakes, follow-ups, engaging and supporting clients, and/or those that demonstrate a "spirit of inquiry" when engaging with our TA Team on GPRA administration issues.

This month, we'd like to send some kudos out to Horizon CSB for their strong follow-up interview rate of 70%. They also routinely use their GPRA data to support their clients' progress. They review and compare both the intake and follow-up BARC-10 scores along with some changes in GPRA follow-up responses to demonstrate tangible progress and share these with their clients. They shared this with OMNI: "They [clients] get a real sense of the progress that they have made when we do the surveys."

Great work, Horizon team!

If you have questions about how to better use your data, reach out to the OMNI TA team. Also, we are hosting a Community Forum on Understanding and Sharing your Data. We hope to see you there!

REMINDER! Join DBHDS and OMNI for a SOR Community Forum: Understanding and Sharing Data on Tue 4/19 at 11am ET

The OMNI and DBHDS Teams invite you to join in our second CSB/Agency Treatment Community Forum, and our first of 2022. Per popular request, we will provide the opportunity for a facilitated discussion on understanding and sharing your data.

The Forum is Tuesday, April 19th from 11am-noon ET. Please click here to register for the Forum if you have not yet done so.

• First, DBHDS will provide some important updates for all on SOR III and highlight the importance of GPRA.

• Then, OMNI will provide a very quick refresher on the various reports and data sets we produce for DBHDS and for your agency. These include data from the GPRA and your quarterly survey responses. We'll also briefly review the VASIS (Virginia Social Indicator Study) Dashboard.

• OMNI will provide some tips on sharing your data, too. Overall, this is an informal forum during which all can hear from each other about how to use and share data to tell a story. We'll learn from each other, ask questions, and share existing best practices.

• Why is this so important? One reason: Sustainability! You can repurpose data that you already have in grant applications and more.

• We will also spotlight two agencies who successfully use reports or data to inform their teams, community, funders, and stakeholders.

Questions? Reach out to us at SORSupport@omni.org. See you in the Forum!