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Authors Posts by Jason Snyder

Jason Snyder

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The Pennsylvania Department of Health, in partnership with the Northwestern Pennsylvania Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Coalition and the Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative, have created the NAS Family Guide Toolkit to help educate families and individuals about NAS, treatment options, and other supports. Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) is a group of withdrawal symptoms in newborns that show up after being exposed to medications or substances, most often opioids, benzodiazepines, and/or barbiturates, during pregnancy.

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The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), in partnership with Shatterproof, is in the process of implementing the ATLAS (Addiction Treatment Locator, Analysis, and Standards) platform in Pennsylvania over the coming months.

ATLAS is a free, multi-state, web-based platform that will help ensure that Pennsylvanians are able to quickly and easily access addiction treatment resources and information that meets their individual needs. Shatterproof will be contacting providers with instructions for the completion of the Treatment Data Survey. Provider participation in ATLAS is not mandatory. To this point, nearly 40 providers have completed the survey.

The following resources are available to help complete the survey.

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A new training program, entitled “Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies for Treating Individuals with Substance Use Disorder,” is now available. The training consists of an online module through TrainPA and in-person/virtual skills training sessions. It contains four levels of trainings, each building upon one another. The four levels are:

  • Level One: Foundational Information on Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies for Treating Individuals with Substance Use Disorder
  • Level Two: Conceptualization and Skills Application
  • Level Three: Demonstration and Evaluation
  • Level Four: Fidelity and Support.

More information is available here.

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DDAP has identified a need for substance use disorder (SUD) drop-in centers, which provide harm reduction support services and connections to recovery and treatment services, in areas of the commonwealth where overdose death rates are highest. DDAP will provide funds to existing drop-in centers to expand their services and increase overdose prevention and community-driven harm reduction. Physical locations of the existing drop-in centers can be permanently fixed or temporary, community-based pop-up locations.

More information about the grant is available here. A project summary and budget template are available on DDAP’s website.

All applications should be submitted electronically no later than 12:00 pm, Monday, December 13, 2021.

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With the increase in stimulant and polysubstance use in the commonwealth, the symposium, being held December 1–2, will serve as a platform to learn about the dangers associated with the misuse of psychostimulants while discovering tactics for preventing widespread psychostimulant use disorder, protecting individuals and communities, and teaching effective treatment. Attendance is free, but pre-registration is required.

More information is available here.

Questions about the symposium should be emailed here.

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Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash

Tomorrow’s hearing on the request for a preliminary injunction against the ASAM transition in the lawsuit filed against the Department of Human Services and the Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs by the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania (DASPOP) will be live-streamed here.

The hearing is set for 10:00am Thursday, Oct. 28 in Courtroom 3001, 3rd Floor of the Pennsylvania Judicial Center, 601 Commonwealth Avenue, Harrisburg.

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The House Human Services Committee passed three key bills today.

House Bills 1561 and 1563 were passed unanimously out of committee. Both bills will align Pennsylvania’s confidentiality laws with federal laws. HB 1563 will effectively eliminate 4 Pa. Code § 255.5. The full House is scheduled to consider both bills tomorrow. RCPA supports both bills.

In addition, House Bill 1995 passed out of committee on a 15-10 party-line vote in which no Democrats voted for the bill. The bill would require the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) to promulgate regulations in instances where DDAP is implementing new or additional licensing requirements for drug and alcohol providers; new or additional drug and alcohol staff credentialing requirements; new or additional drug and alcohol counselor staffing ratios; and new or major programmatic changes and requirements imposed on drug and alcohol facilities. HB 1995 was drafted in response to requirements that go well beyond ASAM Criteria and are being implemented by DDAP as part of its transition to the ASAM Criteria.

RCPA supports the commonwealth’s transition to ASAM Criteria but does not support the overreaching Pennsylvania-specific mandates. RCPA today issued a press release supporting HB 1995.

In a related matter, on Thursday, October 28, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania will hear the Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania’s (DASPOP’s) lawsuit against DDAP and the Department of Human Service in its bid to stop the ASAM transition.

Contact Jason Snyder, Director of RCPA’s Drug and Alcohol Division, with any questions.

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Image by succo from Pixabay

Rep. Carrie Lewis DelRosso introduced legislation yesterday that would require the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs to promulgate regulations in any of the following instances that affect licensed drug and alcohol treatment providers:

  • The implementation of new or additional licensing requirements for drug and alcohol facilities;
  • The implementation of new or additional drug and alcohol staff credentialing requirements;
  • The implementation of new or additional drug and alcohol counselor staffing ratios; and
  • The implementation of new or major programmatic changes and requirements imposed on drug and alcohol facilities, including the requirement of adding programs that significantly increase the cost of delivering care and meeting staffing requirements.

The legislation includes any proposed regulatory requirement not currently in effect or any regulatory requirement that the General Assembly has delayed through legislation, meaning the PA-specific requirements of the ASAM transition could not be implemented until approved through a regulatory review process.

The House Human Services Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill Tuesday, October 26. Rep. Frank Farry, Chairman of the Committee, is a co-sponsor of the bill.

If the bill becomes law before January 1, it would bring much needed relief to a treatment system already struggling with major workforce issues and chronic underfunding.

Contact Jason Snyder, Director of RCPA’s Drug and Alcohol Division, with any questions.

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The Wolf Administration today announced creation of the Interagency Substance Use Response Team (ISURT), a new tool for collaboration across state government to combat the disease of addiction. ISURT replaces the Opioid Command Center (OCC), which was originally created under the governor’s opioid disaster declaration. In replacing the current OCC structure, this newly-established group will shift its focus from solely opioids to all SUDs due to the increase in polysubstance use, stimulant use, and additional SUDs emerging in Pennsylvania.

For more information, contact the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.

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Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), in partnership with Shatterproof, will be implementing the ATLAS® (Addiction Treatment Locator, Analysis, and Standards) platform in Pennsylvania over the coming months. This free, multistate, web-based platform will help ensure that Pennsylvanians are able to quickly and easily access addiction treatment resources and information that meets their individual needs. Shatterproof will be contacting providers later this month with instructions for the completion of the Treatment Data Survey. Provider participation in ATLAS is not mandatory.

For more information about the ATLAS implementation, including dates for ATLAS Provider Roundtable Webinars, please read DDAP’s letter.

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