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Authors Posts by Jason Snyder

Jason Snyder

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Image by Dirk Wouters from Pixabay

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) is partnering with the Department of Human Services, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and the Council of State Governments Justice Center (CSG) to support a new statewide crisis intervention and response services assessment, gap analysis, and strategic planning initiative. This project will explore the intersections of the justice system and crisis response with a specific emphasis on crisis intervention team programs and their adherence to the Memphis Model, and is a component of PCCD’s federal Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program Funding Plan.

Through this assessment, it is essential to hear from stakeholders at the local and state levels across the behavioral health and criminal justice systems, including community members and people with lived experience, to identify assets, gaps, and challenges within the current crisis landscape. To accomplish this, CSG will be hosting 13 listening sessions, each for specific stakeholders, starting on Oct. 21, 2024.

More information about the project, including a direct link and QR code for listening session registration, is available. If you have any questions, please email Michael Leister.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) issued Licensing Alert 07-2024 today to grant statewide exceptions to narcotic treatment programs (NTP) to expand access to medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder in alignment with the federal government’s Final Rule on 42 CFR Part 8.

The statewide exceptions to DDAP regulations that are being granted will enable:

  • People with less than one year of physical dependence on opioids to be treated at an NTP;
  • Verbal consent to treatment;
  • A wider range of dosages based on physician discretion;
  • Eight drug screens per year instead of 12;
  • An increase in take-home medication; and
  • Clinicians to determine counseling requirements unique to each person’s needs instead of mandatory minimums.

DDAP granted the statewide exceptions using 28 Pa. Code § 701.11, which gives it the authority to do so. Through Licensing Alert 07-2024, DDAP is granting these exceptions if the NTPs comply with the rules in 42 CFR Part 8. There is no need for NTPs to submit exception requests or to inform DDAP they are using these exceptions.

DDAP plans to include the changes to the federal rules when it updates its own state rules.

You can email DDAP with questions about this licensing alert.

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Image by Werner Moser from Pixabay

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), through RCPA, is seeking input on its plan to license telehealth-only outpatient SUD treatment providers.

In an effort to regulate unlicensed, out-of-state telehealth providers marketing themselves as addiction treatment providers as well as expand access, DDAP plans to license telehealth-only outpatient SUD treatment providers. These DDAP-licensed telehealth-only providers may provide intake, evaluation, and referral, as well as outpatient, intensive outpatient, or partial hospitalization services via telehealth only, without a physical plant location in Pennsylvania, to individuals who are located in the Commonwealth as long as the provider complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

DDAP will not require the provider to maintain a physical location in Pennsylvania. DDAP also will grant all telehealth-only providers an exception to §709.11(b) regarding the requirement to conduct an onsite inspection for the renewal of a license as part of licensure.

DDAP has also said licensure is no guarantee of payment. Providers that are considering applying for a telehealth-only license should consult their public and private insurance payers to confirm whether they will meet conditions for network enrollment and payment, as DDAP cannot guarantee a DDAP-licensed telehealth-only provider funding or a contract.

Some providers have raised concerns about:

  • The effectiveness and quality of tele-only treatment without an ability for in-person counseling and how it could harm patients;
  • The siphoning of commercial patients from community-based providers and how it would negatively affect their financial situation;
  • The long-term sustainability of community-based providers who understand their community as large national players enter Pennsylvania; and
  • Maximizing existing outpatient capacity in Pennsylvania.

Comments may be emailed directly to DDAP Deputy Secretary Kelly Primus. Or, by the close of business this Friday, Sept. 20, please submit to RCPA SUD Treatment Services Provider Policy Director Jason Snyder any comments about this plan. RCPA will then share the comments with DDAP. In addition to any concerns you may have about this new license category, please include in your comments any proposed solutions you have about preventing unlicensed telehealth-only outpatient organizations from providing SUD treatment counseling via telehealth in Pennsylvania.

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Photo by Copernico on Unsplash

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) 2024 Emerging Drug Trends Symposium is set for 8:00 am – 3:30 pm Tuesday, November 19, at the Penn Harris Hotel, 1150 Camp Hill Bypass, Camp Hill, PA 17011. The symposium is free to attend, but registration is required.

Attendees will gain a better understanding of:

  • The latest trends in drug use in Pennsylvania;
  • Changes in overdose trends; and
  • Best practices and innovative approaches to respond to emerging drug trends.

Continuing education credits and reduced hotel room rates are available.

DDAP is also accepting proposals for breakout sessions that would address the following topics:

  • Emerging New Drugs of Misuse
  • Emerging Drugs in Schools & Communities
  • Social Media & the Connection to Drug Use
  • Specialty Court Drug Trends
  • Cannabis (including Deltas 8 & 10)
  • Cannabis Legislation
  • Vapes & Vaping Trends
  • Cannabis Vapes
  • Narcotics & Opioids
  • Heroin to Methamphetamines
  • Stash Compartments
  • “To go” Alcohol Trends
  • Underage Drinking/Alcohol Trends
  • Drug Accessibility/Legal Drugs
  • Over-the-Counter Drug Misuse

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Close-up of Hands holding pens and making notes at the conference

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) is hosting the following clinical supervision skills trainings:

  • October 21–25 at 7th Street Conference Center, 2525 N 7th St., Harrisburg
  • November 4–8 at Gateway Rehabilitation, 311 Rouser Road, Coraopolis

This in-person training will build on the information provided in the online training and provide participants with the opportunity to practice their clinical supervision skills. Participants will also be provided with tools to assist in assessing and working with their supervisees.

Trainings will be from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm each day. Cost of the training is $300. Registration is limited and will be processed in the order they are received. A registration form is available on DDAP’s Training Management System website. You can email questions about the training to the DDAP Training Section inbox.

An additional clinical supervision skills training is being planned for the southeast region for December 9–13. Once a location is confirmed, it will be posted in the Training Management System.

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Photo by Leon on Unsplash

The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (DLI), in partnership with Penn State College of Medicine, is offering a free virtual training series to help employers create and maintain recovery-friendly workplaces. The training series, “Shatter the Stigma: Supporting Recovery in the Workplace ECHO,” will educate employers on valuable tools to support employees in recovery from substance use disorders, provide strategies to reduce stigma in the workplace, and help prevent unnecessary terminations.

The program starts Tuesday, September 10 with eight one-hour sessions. The sessions are 8:00 am – 9:00 am every other Tuesday at no cost to employers. Those interested can register online.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) will hold its next ASAM technical assistance webinar at 10:00 am Monday, September 9, 2024. It will be the fourth in the four-month “Conversations With Scott Boyles” series. Boyles serves as Senior National Training Director for Train for Change Inc. During September’s webinar, the discussion about handling administrative discharges will continue. The session and Boyles’ series will then conclude with a focus on the principles of the ASAM Criteria.

As a reminder, webinars are regularly scheduled for 10:00 am on the first Monday of each month.

To sign up for ASAM technical assistance webinar invitations, email DDAP’s ASAM resource account. Past webinars and additional ASAM 3rd Edition resources are available on DDAP’s ASAM Transition web page.

Please use the link below to connect to each month’s webinar.

Microsoft Teams meeting
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Meeting ID: 225 792 355 092
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+1 267-332-8737,,336948391#   United States, Philadelphia
Phone Conference ID: 336 948 391#
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Recording or transcription of this meeting may not occur without consent of all participants, as required by law, and must adhere to Commonwealth policies. For more information, click the legal link.
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The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) will kick off Recovery Month on Thursday, September 12, at Soldiers and Sailors Grove in the Capitol Complex in Harrisburg with “Share the Hope: A Recovery Story.” The event will include wellness activities and demonstrations, speakers, food trucks, mobile clinic tours, and more.

In addition to the kick-off event, DDAP will host several other Recovery Month events.

September is National Recovery Month, a national observance held every year. The goal of Recovery Month, according to DDAP, is to come together, celebrate individuals in recovery, and offer hope to those who are struggling with a substance use disorder. It reinforces the positive message that behavioral health is essential to overall health, prevention works, treatment is effective, and people can and do recover from the disease of addiction.

You can send Recovery Month-related questions electronically.

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Supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health through Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding, the Pennsylvania Statewide Tobacco-Free Recovery Initiative (PA STFRI) facilitates partnerships among academia, state agencies, county public health departments, treatment providers, and recovery advocates to advance recovery-oriented evidence-based tobacco use disorder interventions in behavioral health services.

In 2021 Public Health Management Corporation’s Research & Evaluation Group conducted a readiness assessment to identify the status of tobacco interventions within behavioral health. The survey is being repeated this year, and respondents are being sought for the 2024 Behavioral Health Readiness Assessment. The survey will take less than 15 minutes to complete and closes August 31, 2024. Respondents are not asked their name, and responses are not linked to the respondent.

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