ATTC Network Wide

Over the last six months the ATTC Network Workforce Development, Recruitment, and Retention Workgroup collaborated to create a report titled Strategic Response to Behavioral Workforce Shortages, focusing primarily on barriers to recruitment and retention in the field of behavioral health. This report highlighted three areas of focus: recruitment of new employees to the field, competitive pay, and portability of licenses and certifications. In addition to the brief-style report, the workgroup created three shorter one-pager versions to be printed and used for tabling events. The report highlights identified barriers under each focus, recommended responses to address these barriers, real-world examples of organizations and states that have attempted to remedy these barriers, and action steps for addressing the barriers looking ahead. The intended use for this report is to provide concrete steps for ATTC regional offices to inform future initiatives, as well as initiating conversations at the national level to address the behavioral health workforce shortage.

Product Developed by the Contingency Management Task Force (CM Task Force) The Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network Coordinating Office (ATTC NCO) convened the Contingency Management Task Force (CM Task Force) in April 2023 at the request of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The purpose of this Contingency Management (CM) Task Force was to define the key components of CM that will facilitate consistent evidence-based training and implementation, and to scale CM in a manner that is meaningful, permissible, and scientific. The insights gathered will help SAMHSA’s [Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Centers] to offer technical guidance, resources, partnerships, and infrastructure to support the expansion of CM to stakeholders in the field of addiction and recovery. This initial meeting is crucial in developing a shared vocabulary and an evidence based approach to CM education and training platforms, with the goal of incorporating metrics to measure effectiveness. Key information and components for facilitating CM TTA found in this report, include: 1. Key areas of considerations relating to implementation guidance (Section 2) 2. Recommendations pertaining to the development and rollout of implementation guidance (Section 3) 3. Proposed chapter titles and topics to be used in the possible development of a Contingency Management Implementation Guidance Document (Section 4) 4. Publicly available resources (Section 5) 5. Selected references (Section 6)

    The ATTC Network hosted a webinar by Abt Associates as part of a recent SAMHSA Advisory.   Summary: The last decade has seen immense changes in digital health, with increased use of electronic medical records, mobile applications, and wearable devices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth expanded access to care for millions of people and was a critical resource to meet the behavioral healthcare needs of individuals with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. Digital therapeutics (DTx) are health software intended to treat or alleviate a disease, disorder, condition, or injury by generating and delivering a medical intervention that has a demonstrable positive therapeutic impact on a patient's health. DTx play an important role in facilitating care through technology. This webinar will introduce the audience to a recently released SAMHSA advisory on DTx and the benefits of their use in behavioral health. The webinar will describe research, regulatory, and reimbursement implications for DTx, selection and implementation considerations, and issues related to equitable access of DTx in behavioral health. Through a roundtable format, the webinar will also highlight one state’s success in integrating DTx into its service provision.   Watch Now: DTx Webinar SAMHSA Guide: DTx Advisory Slide Deck: DTx Presentation