Every month, we’re bringing you the top news in addiction treatment and justice services from publications around the country. In addition, we’ll share what we’re reading as our team creates and updates evidence-based curricula and training for our partners around the world.
Addiction Treatment | Justice Services | What We're Reading
Addiction Treatment
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White House unveils plan to make insurers cover mental health care
What
The Biden administration has proposed new rules that would require health insurers to cover mental health and addiction treatment as comprehensively as they cover treatment for physical health conditions. The proposal is an attempt to address the long-standing problem of insurance obstacles for people who need mental health care.
Why this matters
It is estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (57.8 million in 2021). If the proposal is enacted, it could help millions of Americans get the mental health care they need.
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SAMHSA's 2023-2026 strategic plan
What
SAMHSA has outlined its next few years’ strategy in a comprehensive plan. Focused on person-centered care, this plan includes five priority areas: preventing substance use and overdose, enhancing access to suicide prevention and mental health services, promoting resilience and emotional health for children, youth and families, integrating behavioral and physical health care, and strengthening the behavioral health workforce.
Why this matters
SAMHSA continues to push for a person-centered approach as the future of addiction treatment. This plan underlines how it is essential to recognize the diversity of individuals, families and communities to address mental health issues as comprehensively as possible.
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National Addiction Professionals Day toolkit
What
National Addiction Professionals Day is an annual event held in September to honor the work of addiction professionals and to raise awareness of mental health and substance use disorders. The day is also a time to celebrate people in recovery.
What’s in the toolkit?
The toolkit includes a summary of the day’s intent, links to resources, simple language to use in emails, social media ideas and ways organizations can get involved.
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New tools enable non-clinicians to diagnose substance use disorders
What
Yale School of Medicine researchers have developed two new diagnostic tools that can be used by non-clinicians to identify people with substance use disorders. The tools, called the Rapid Opioid Use Disorder Assessment and the Rapid Stimulant Use Disorder Assessment, are both validated and can be administered in just a few minutes.
Why this matters and next steps
The tools could help accurately diagnose individuals experiencing substance use disorders and improve access to treatment. Rapid diagnosis of opioid and stimulant use disorders is important, but we also need to develop a healthcare system that can provide immediate help to people with these conditions.
Read more | Learn how we support opioid abatement
Justice Services
Headline
Study finds improved prison reentry programs could help flatten rate of opioid overdose deaths
What
A study by Rutgers University found that improved prison reentry programs could help flatten the rate of opioid overdose deaths in the United States. The study found that people who were recently released from prison are at a much higher risk of opioid overdose than the general population.
Recommendations from the study
The study also found that certain prison reentry programs, such as medication-assisted treatment and peer support, can help reduce the risk of opioid overdose. The findings also recommend implementing standardized screening tools to identify at risk individuals in prison and expanding safe syringe services.
Read more | Explore our prison solutions
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DOJ current funding opportunities
What
You can find a list of all currently open OJP funding opportunities on this page, along with links to the full text of the solicitations, which contain information on how to apply. Check out the Applicant Resources section for information on writing and submitting grant applications.
Grants to focus on
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has several solicitations due in late September and October.
Read more | Download our grant toolkit
What We’re Reading
Motivational Interviewing 4th Edition: Helping People Change and Grow
William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick have released Motivational Interviewing 4th Edition: Helping People Change and Grow. The new edition is updated and streamlined to be even more user-friendly. An additional decade of research has been conducted since the 3rd edition. The new edition also emphasizes examples of what MI looks like in practice – or as Miller puts it, “how to be a helper.”