Resources
23 Results (showing 1 - 10)
Results sorted by updated date (newest first)
Results sorted by updated date (newest first)
Posted 6/16/2020 (updated 3/28/2024)
The most effective therapy for people with opioid use disorder involves the use of Food and Drug Administration-approved medications—methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone. Despite evidence that this approach, known as medications for opioid use disorder, reduces relapse and saves lives, the vast majority of jails and prisons do not offer this treatment.
Posted 5/27/2020 (updated 3/28/2024)
Please see attached technical modules to help guide you as you work to address the opioid epidemic in your communities. They are a resource for you to identify best practices and implementation models for prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Posted 12/21/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released a notice of proposed rulemaking that would allow certified opioid treatment programs to begin prescribing the drug via audio-only or video-enabled telehealth. See additional information under Policy Updates below. The proposed changes come on top of recent findings by HHS of the positive impact of its revised Practice Guidelines for the Administration of Buprenorphine for Treating Opioid Use Disorder that removed two longstanding requirements for obtaining a waiver to treat up to 30 patients with buprenorphine: 1) the requirement for specific training, and 2) the need for otherwise eligible clinicians to certify their ability to provide or refer patients for counseling and other services. Rural primary care providers have obtained the DEA waiver at a lower rate than urban clinicians; decreased burden and greater flexibility in the guidelines, along with broader use of telehealth could help close that gap.
Posted 9/28/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
Last week, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) introduced the Roadmap for Behavioral Health Integration, to advance the White House Strategy to Address our National Mental Health Crisis announced earlier this year.
Posted 9/25/2023 (updated 3/27/2024)
The Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) has provided events and resources throughout September 2023 for National Recovery Month.
Posted 4/12/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
Since 1999, an estimated 841,000 people in the U.S. have died from a drug overdose. Beginning in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly exacerbated the overdose crisis resulting in a 30% increase in 2020 compared to 2019. The majority of overdose deaths in the U.S. involve opioids, including nearly 71% of all overdose deaths in 2019.3 Despite high rates of overdose across the nation, overdose and overdose death are preventable. However, people at risk of overdose often face significant challenges accessing treatment and navigating systems of care. Local and state health departments are well-suited to lead and support efforts to prevent and respond to overdose and to link people to evidence-based treatment and services. Peer support services (PSS) are a valuable component of a growing number of overdose response and linkage to care initiatives that can be implemented and supported by local and state health departments.
Posted 9/25/2023 (updated 3/27/2024)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has now added American Sign Language (ASL) services to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. An ongoing effort of the HHS is to expand accessibility to behavioral health care for underserved communities, which includes individuals who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Posted 3/16/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
Background: Sharp exacerbations of the US overdose crisis are linked to polysubstance use of synthetic compounds. Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer, long noted in the street opioid supply of Puerto Rico, and more recently Philadelphia. Yet its national trends, geographic distribution, and health risks are poorly characterized. Methods: In this sequential mixed-methods study, xylazine was increasingly observed by ethnographers in Philadelphia among drug-sellers and people who inject drugs (PWID). Subsequently, we systematically searched for records describing xylazine-present overdose mortality across the US and assessed time trends and overlap with other drugs
Posted 3/16/2022 (updated 3/27/2024)
We are pleased to share that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has rolled out a new 988 website today – available at samhsa.gov/988. The 988 website is designed to serve as your one-stop-shop for 988 resources from SAMHSA.
Notably, we want to make sure you’re aware that the site contains a 988 partner toolkit. The partner toolkit is intended for SAMHSA’s 988 implementation partners (crisis call centers, state mental health programs, substance use treatment providers, behavioral health systems, and others) to provide key messages, FAQs, and more information about what 988 is and how it will work.
Posted 12/20/2021 (updated 3/26/2024)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) want greater awareness of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their connection to high rates of overdose and suicide. This week they announced a new training webpage, UrgentRelatedPreventable.org, designed in collaboration with the American Public Health Association to provide background and talking points. The site explains how exposure to certain events and conditions in childhood have lasting effects on health, well-being, and prosperity far into adulthood. See Funding section below for a CDC effort to research the links between ACEs and substance use.