Virtual training and technical assistance: a shift in behavioral health workforce access and perceptions of services during emergency restrictions.

BACKGROUND: To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-funded Technology Transfer Centers had to rapidly adapt to ensure that the behavioral health workforce had continuous access to remote training and technical assistance (TTA). Although the Technology Transfer Centers have historically relied partially upon virtual methods for delivering TTA, the shift to a strictly virtual approach necessitated by COVID-19 restrictions has raised new questions for how to best proceed with services when social distancing guidelines are relaxed. The objective of this exploratory paper was to compare TTA provision in the six-month period prior to (9/1/19 thru 2/28/20) and during (4/1/20 thru 9/30/20) early COVID-19 restrictions to determine the extent to which the shift to virtual service provision impacted the behavioral health and medical workforce. Specifically, we examined participants' access to TTA, geographic reach of TTA, and workforce perceptions of satisfaction and utility with TTA provision. METHOD: Participant and event-level data were analyzed to compare the following metrics before and during the COVID pandemic: number of events and attendees; participant demographics; zip codes reached; coverage of rural, suburban, and urban areas; and perceptions of satisfaction with and utility of training. RESULTS: Findings showed a 40% increase in the number of events delivered (p < .001) and a 270% increase in the number of attendees (p < .001) during the COVID period when TTCs relied exclusively on virtual delivery. Geospatial analyses linking zip codes to a schematic of rural, suburban, and urban classifications throughout the United States revealed significant increases in the number of zip codes reached during the COVID time period. Satisfaction levels were comparable before and during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Findings show that expanded access to TTA services via virtual formats resulted in reach to more diverse attendees and regions, and did not come at the expense of satisfaction. Results suggest that virtual TTA should continue to be an important component of TTA offerings post-pandemic.

States' investment in recovery support services: An exploratory analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Recovery support services (RSS), while not yet precisely defined, nevertheless have a longstanding role in managing chronic illnesses including substance use disorders (SUDs). This exploratory study is the first to identify the amounts of money that states invest from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Block Grants; SAMHSA discretionary grant and state-appropriated sources; the types of organizations from which RSS are purchased; and the non-financial supports states provide for RSS. METHODS: The study is a mixed method exploratory analysis, based on three data sources: content analysis of all 51 (Washington, D.C. included) Substance Abuse Block Grant (SABG) state applications; in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of ten states and one territory; and a structured electronic survey sent to all SABG recipients. Forty states and 2 territories returned a total of 42 questionnaires from 56 possible states and territories (75%). Thirty-two of the responding states provided complete FY2022 financial data. RESULTS: States reporting financial data spent $412 million from SABG, SAMHSA discretionary grants, and state appropriations for RSS. An estimate based on extrapolating regionally grouped per capita spending averages to non-responding state populations projected $775 million spent from these sources for all states. The study also calculated per capita and SUD prevalent population expenditures from these sources for each state. States purchase services from recovery community organizations and SUD treatment organizations in equal proportions, as well as from statewide recovery support organizations, educational institutions, hospitals, community health centers, and justice system organizations. Purchased services are not uniformly defined, but include community centers, peer staff, housing, and other support services. States provide non-financial support in forms that include technical assistance, community engagement, practice guidelines, and regulatory frameworks. CONCLUSIONS: This first report of states' investments establishes a baseline to serve as a reference point for future analysis of these expenditures, as well as a foundation to which other sources of RSS funding such as Medicaid and other state and federal (e.g. HRSA, CDC, DOJ) dollars may be added. Uniform definitions for RSS will be necessary to support future reporting, accountability, and research. Finally, newly formed peer-based provider organizations need particular attention in order to be sustainable.

Using ECHO Clinics to Promote Capacity Building in Clinical Supervision.

INTRODUCTION: Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO™) is a hub-and-spoke knowledge-sharing network, led by expert teams who use multipoint videoconferencing to conduct virtual clinics with community providers in order to improve the quality of care. For this project, members of the Addiction Technology Transfer Center network applied this model in order to enhance workforce capacity to deliver clinical supervision for the treatment of substance use disorders. METHODS: Clinical supervisors (n=66) employed in substance use disorder treatment programs were recruited to participate in this pilot study. The virtual ECHO clinic consisted of 12 total sessions, each lasting 1 hour and comprising a 15-minute mini-lecture on a clinical supervision topic and a 45-minute case presentation and review. All data were collected and analyzed between September 2016 and June 2017. RESULTS: Forty-eight staff attended at least one ECHO session (mean=6.38) and results are presented for 20 staff who completed the follow-up survey. Participants were highly satisfied with the overall intervention, organization of the clinic and the facilitation of Hub experts, relevance of the technical assistance to their work, and with the impact of the intervention on their effectiveness as a supervisor. Results also indicate that there were significant self-reported improvements in clinical supervision self-efficacy following participation in the ECHO clinic. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this pilot study suggest that ECHO virtual clinics are feasible to implement for the purpose of workforce development, are well liked by participants, and can enhance clinical supervision self-efficacy among participants. Further research should explore the impact of self-efficacy on the effective implementation of clinical supervision practices. SUPPLEMENT INFORMATION: This article is part of a supplement entitled The Behavioral Health Workforce: Planning, Practice, and Preparation, which is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Partnerships and pathways of dissemination: the National Institute on Drug Abuse-Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Blending Initiative in the Clinical Trials Network.

Since 2001, the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) has worked to put the results of its trials into the hands of community treatment programs, in large part through its participation in the National Institute on Drug Abuse-Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Blending Initiative and its close involvement with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment's Addiction Technology Transfer Centers. This article describes (a) the CTN's integral role in the Blending Initiative, (b) key partnerships and dissemination pathways through which the results of CTN trials are developed into blending products and then transferred to community treatment programs, and (c) three blending initiatives involving buprenorphine, motivational incentives, and motivational interviewing. The Blending Initiative has resulted in high utilization of its products, preparation of more than 200 regional trainers, widespread training of service providers in most U.S. States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and movement toward the development of Web-based implementation supports and technical assistance. Implications for future directions of the Blending Initiative and opportunities for research are discussed.