Addiction Technology Transfer Center of New England - The proposed New England Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) will serve Region 1, which is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and nine federally recognized indigenous tribes. The primary focus of the New England ATTC is to develop and strengthen the regional workforce that provides the full continuum of addiction and recovery services spanning engagement, treatment, maintenance, and harm reduction across rural, urban, and suburban settings, and in underserved, under resourced, and indigenous communities. The regional workforce is primarily White (72%), female (72%), with 46% having a graduate or advanced degree and over one-third identifying as in recovery (38%). Regional needs assessments have identified seven key service gaps and associated areas of training need: (1) Lack of access to evidence-based practices and inconsistent quality of addiction care; (2) rise in overdose rates related to untreated stimulant use and fentanyl; (3) untreated co-occurring trauma and health issues in patients; (4) high workforce turnover and insufficient workforce competency in clinical supervision and leadership capacity; (5) disparities in access and quality of addiction care, including culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS); (6) limited integration of addiction services in primary care, allied health, and non-traditional settings; and (7) high rates of relapse and untreated substance use disorders. The ATTC proposes three overarching goals and aligned objectives to address these areas of need complemented by rigorous evaluation. Goal 1 is to heighten the awareness, knowledge, and skills of the workforce in evidence-based, CLAS-adherent treatment and recovery support services through the provision of basic and targeted training and technical assistance (TTA). Measurable objectives include provision of training to 2,000 individuals annually (10,000 across five-years) through face-to-face and instructor led technology delivered courses, intensive summer educational programs, self-paced online courses, and culturally and linguistically appropriate products and resources. Goal 2 is to promote systems-change and increase organizational capacity to those seeking to implement evidence-based, CLAS-adherent behavioral treatment and recovery support services, incorporate principles underlying evidence-based care, and advance behavioral health equity through provision of intensive TTA. The foundation of our regional approach to intensive TTA is the state-of-the-art Science to Service Laboratory, which consists of didactic training, performance feedback, and external coaching. Measurable objectives include: launching an addiction treatment telehealth initiative targeting rural and underserved populations, providing two annual Leadership Development Program cohorts (one Spanish language), promoting professional growth and development, and providing organization- or system-wide intensive TTA to advance evidence-based practice implementation. Goal 3 is to foster local, state, regional and national alliances among culturally diverse practitioners, researchers, policy makers, funders, and the recovery community. Measurable objectives include bi-annual meetings with our Advisory Board (including the SAMHSA Region 1 Director, regional SSAs, provider and recovery organizations, and allied health systems) and serving as the primary point of TTA support in addictions services for multiple systems of care (including primary care, schools, criminal justice, faith-based organizations, and child welfare). Pursuit of these objectives is expected to yield long-term improvements in organizations' workforce recruitment and retention, as well as in the quality, cultural and linguistic appropriateness, and equitable delivery of treatment and recovery services in New England.
