Jan 10, 2022
The Youth Peer Mentor Program (YPMP), one of the youth-focused initiatives of California’s MAT Expansion Project, recently released a final report on the program’s outcomes and accomplishments over the past year. Continuity Consulting (CCI) launched YPMP in 2019 with the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to train justice-involved youth to provide substance use recovery support to their peers, through mindfulness-based interventions. The program also helps youth peer mentors prepare for certification as a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist or Registered Alcohol or Drug Technician. As a next step, the Youth Peer Mentor Program plans to expand programming to new locations, including drug courts and schools. Read more about the program, and the newly trained youth peer mentors.
Jan 10, 2022
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is using available federal grant funding for a prevention and recovery services project for LGBTQ2S+ communities throughout California. Funding is available for LGBTQ2S+ organizations to develop or expand upon prevention, education, and recovery services for opioid use disorder and stimulant use disorders while creating tangible links to treatment services and providers.
Eligible organizations must:
- be located in California
- Be licensed/registered to do business in California
- Be a public entity or 501 (c)(3) organization (fiscal sponsors are allowed)
- Provide services in California
- Be mission-focused on providing services to the LGBTQ2S+ community in their area
Applications are due by January 28th at 1 p.m. PT.
Please email any questions to MATaccesspoints@shfcenter.org.
May 10, 2021
This funding opportunity is part of the California MAT Access Points Project. The MAT Access Points Project funds organizations throughout California to address opioid and stimulant use disorder by supporting and expanding prevention, education, stigma reduction, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services. This opportunity will support prevention and treatment programs addressing stimulant use in communities of color, particularly Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Hispanic/Latino, which have been disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs and have experienced substantial stimulant-related overdose deaths. Activities implemented through this funding opportunity should focus on 1) increased access to stimulant use prevention services for and within communities of color or 2) increased access to stimulant use treatment services for and within communities of color. Eligible organization can apply for up to $100,000 for prevention activities or up to $250,000 for treatment activities. Send questions related to this funding opportunity to mataccesspoints@shfcenter.org with the subject line “Stimulant Use RFA Question”.
Access the request for applications
Apr 28, 2021
On April 27th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released new buprenorphine practice guidelines, which include the decision to allow any physician with a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) license to treat up to 30 in-state patients with buprenorphine. Currently, doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners must complete a training and receive a waiver (referred to as the “X-waiver”) before prescribing buprenorphine.
HHS had released similar guidance to remove this training requirement under the Trump administration on January 14th, but the Biden administration froze this proposal, along with many other new regulations, in late January. The new announcement allows physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse midwives to treat up to 30 patients with buprenorphine. Those providers will still need to submit a notice of intent to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) that they intend to prescribe buprenorphine.
“Increases in overdose deaths emphasize the need to expand access to evidence-based treatments, including buprenorphine that can be prescribed in office-based settings,” said Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health. “These guidelines provide another tool to help communities respond to the evolving overdose crisis, equipping providers to save lives in their communities.”
Apr 12, 2021
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and the California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) have finished installing approximately 250 safe medication disposal bins (med bins) across California, expanding the network of med bins for the public to use for free.
These efforts are part of the California Drug Take-Back Program, which provides med bins for the safe disposal of unwanted, unneeded, or expired medication. The state created this program to combat the opioid crisis and reduce the misuse of medications. It provides publications that explain how to use med bins, offers a comprehensive med bin locator map, and educates the public on the benefits of using med bins.
“Due to the ongoing pandemic, this expansion of the med bin program couldn’t be more timely. Unused medications that are not disposed of properly can cause a myriad of serious public safety concerns,” said CPSC Executive Director Doug Kobold in a release.
DHCS funded the Drug Take-Back Program, which ended March 31st, 2021, with a $3 million grant through the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) program. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) supports the MAT program under the State Opioid Response grant.
