Technology-Enabled Learning Collaborative Program - JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI) proposes a Technology-enabled Collaborative Learning Program (TCLP), the Treating Addiction in Jails and Prisons ECHO, for professionals delivering substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, mental health treatment, recovery support services, and infectious disease treatment in carceral settings, specifically jails and prisons. The goal of JSI’s ECHO program will be to strengthen the capacity of the carceral workforce to deliver care that is guided by evidence-informed practices to treat medically underserved individuals experiencing incarceration with SUD, mental health, and/or infectious diseases. JSI will utilize a guided practice model, or telementoring, known as Project ECHO® (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) which convenes professionals through a videoconference platform to increase knowledge and skills for the delivery of specialty care services. The ECHO model involves peer-to-peer case-based learning and consultation, didactic sessions, and collaborative problem solving grounded in an “All Teach All Learn” philosophy and practice. JSI’s didactic and case-based learning will be grounded in evidence-based practices including The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) Criteria, the most widely used and comprehensive treatment guidelines for SUD treatment and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for infectious disease testing and linkage to care. These guidelines will increase participant knowledge and application to deliver patient-driven holistic care. During the performance period, JSI will work with up to 30 carceral settings across three concurrent ECHO cohorts providing at least eight monthly one-hour sessions per year for each cohort. Each cohort will build a learning community which will include teams of one to five participants from each carceral setting. Participants may include physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, alcohol and drug counselors, and recovery support professionals. Over the project period, the ECHO will reach 150-750 professionals working in carceral settings. Each learning community will be joined by an Advisory Panel who will have deep subject matter expertise on the carceral system, substance use, mental health and infectious disease. The panel will also include people with lived experience in the carceral setting. JSI will develop a robust evaluation plan and will convene an Advisory/Quality Improvement (A/QI) Group to inform real-time and ongoing improvements. The A/QI group will include members from HRSA, ECHO participants, and content experts. Work products will be shared with the wider professional community, HRSA, and other networks in an effort to promote sustainability of telementoring. The proposed service area will include prisons and jails located in HRSA region 1 (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island), region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands), and region 3 (Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC, and Delaware).
