A Project of State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS)

BACKGROUND

The addiction treatment field faces growing challenges stemming from the tension between the burgeoning need to effectively treat and prevent substance use disorders and the lack of an accompanying increase in resources. Agencies can be stressed nearly to the breaking point, stretching limited staff and funding to meet demand. Many, particularly small providers, are questioning whether they can survive in the current environment of inadequate reimbursement, increasingly complex administrative requirements, and the shortage of a well-trained workforce that presents a serious challenge to quality treatment.

Activities of the Partners for Recovery Initiative under the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) are part of the response of the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to these concerns. Through Partners for Recovery, SAMHSA/CSAT provided support for the development of a comprehensive stakeholder workforce report entitled: "Strengthening Professional Identity: Challenges of the Addictions Treatment Workforce, A Framework for Discussion." The report's recommendations reflect the understanding that addressing workforce issues goes well beyond education and training. A section titled "Infrastructure Development Priorities" proposes development of networks as "an important mechanism for ensuring agency viability and service availability." Benefits of networks include the following: access to a more complete array of services and more specialized staff; increased management efficiencies; expanded career paths for network staff members; and a more stable workforce.

To provide a preliminary window into the kinds of networks in which community-based addiction providers are currently engaged, Partners for Recovery requested that State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) approach its state provider associations for information on current networks, which were loosely defined as "collaboration between providers for the purpose of expanding services, providing access to specialized services, coordinating care, treating people with co-occurring mental or physical problems, sharing staff, sharing information technology, sharing other administrative or management functions, co-locating, achieving economies of scale, enhancing revenue, or a host of other reasons."

Eighteen agencies from 11 states responded. The networks they described ranged from one professional serving as Executive Director for three small providers to broad cross-system collaborations among multiple agencies serving thousands of clients. A number of networks include shared staffing and other strategies to address the workforce issues presenting a formidable challenge for the addictions treatment field. In addition, networks have been formed to share technology, administrative services, and other functions to promote efficiency and effectiveness. Clearly, addiction treatment agencies across the country are beginning to turn to networking arrangements as they seek to maintain strong and vital organizations that respond to the needs of those they serve.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

In response to Partners for Recovery's further interest in networks and the growing attention within SAMHSA and in the field to workforce issues, SAAS is expanding its research on network models, networking strategies, and their potential for adoption by other providers. SAAS is preparing case studies of nine networks that reflect a range of collaborative approaches and will produce a report providing guidance to SAMHSA and the substance use disorders field. The case studies will cover a broad range of treatment agencies and networking strategies to strengthen organizational infrastructure, with a special focus on the potential for networks to respond to workforce issues, especially recruiting and retaining qualified staff.

Specific project objectives include the following:

1. Identify and describe nine well-functioning addiction treatment provider networks;

    

2. Provide information on the process of developing networks, including network goals; motivating factors; interpersonal, organizational and communications interactions that figure into network creation; network structure and function; and benefits and challenges; and

    

3. Educate addiction treatment agencies, especially small ones, on the potential benefits of networks as a mechanism to strengthen infrastructure, increase efficiencies, and expand their ability to attract and retain staff through networks.