Cooperative Agreements for State Adolescent Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2012 for Cooperative Agreements for State Adolescent Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination. The purpose of this program is to provide funding to States/Territories/Tribes to improve treatment for adolescents through the development of a learning laboratory with collaborating local community-based treatment provider sites. Through the shared experience between the State/Territory/Tribe and the local community-based treatment provider sites, an evidence-based practice (EBP) will be implemented, youth and families will be provided services, and a feedback loop will be developed to enable the State/Territory/Tribe and the sites to identify barriers and test solutions through a services component operating in real time. The outcomes will include: needed changes to State/Territory/Tribe policies and procedures; development of financing structures that work in the current environment; and a blueprint for States/Territories/Tribes and providers that can be used throughout the State/Territory/Tribe to widen the use of effective EBPs. Additionally, youth (ages 12-18) and their families/primary caregivers will be provided services from the grant funds that will inform the process to improve systems issues. The expected outcomes of the program include: increased rates of abstinence; enrollment in education, vocational training, and/or employment; social connectedness; and decreased juvenile justice involvement for adolescents provided services through this cooperative agreement. To accomplish this purpose, SAMHSA is requiring States/Territories/Tribes to use grant funds for the following: Develop and improve State/Territory/Tribe capacity to increase access to and quality of treatment for adolescents with substance use or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders and their families through: involving families and youth at the State/Territory/Tribe and local levels to inform policy, program and effective practice; expanding the qualified workforce; disseminating evidence-based practices; developing funding and payment strategies that are practical and doable in the State/Territory/Tribe given the current funding environment; and improving interagency collaboration. Enhance and improve the quality of treatment and recovery services provided to adolescents (ages 12 –18) for the treatment of substance use or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders, and their families/primary caregivers (e.g., foster care parents, extended family members). Through a State/Territory/Tribe planning and selection process, States/Territories/Tribes will partner with two local community-based treatment provider sites to: select a family-centered/family-inclusive evidence-based treatment intervention for the amelioration of substance use and co-occurring substance use and mental disorders for adolescents and their families; ensure certification/licensure of the sites and/or clinicians(as prescribed in the manual/documentation of the chosen evidence-based treatment intervention) with a "train-the-trainers" model included to ensure sustainability; and begin the process of dissemination of the intervention to providers throughout the State/Territory/Tribe (this is to be understood as the training and licensure/certification as required by the developers of the intervention and not merely exposure training) to equip an increasing number of sites and clinicians to be trained/trainers in the intervention. In accordance with SAMHSA's Strategic Initiative on Health Reform, this program aims to assist States/Territories/Tribes in the development of a process to be used to expand and enhance treatment and recovery systems for adolescents and their families with substance use or co-occurring substance use and mental disorders. This initiative supports the Trauma and Justice, Recovery Support, and Health Reform SAMHSA Strategic Initiatives. In addition, State Adolescent Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination grantees will be expected to identify and decrease differences in access, service use, and outcomes of services among the adolescent populations vulnerable to health disparities. The State Adolescent Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination cooperative agreements are authorized under Section 509 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended. This announcement addresses Healthy People 2020 Substance Abuse Topic Area HP 2020-SA.