Using the NIDA/SAMHSA Blending Products to address the needs of the Criminal Justice Workforce

NIDA/SAMHSA/ATTC Blending Team members design and disseminate products that give substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers the necessary tools to facilitate the adoption of science-based interventions in their communities.  The following are one-day training events that are designed specifically for the criminal justice workforce.

Criminal Justice Treatment Planning MATRS: Utilizing Criminogenic Risk Assessment to Develop Effective Treatment Plans

An adaptation of the NIDA/SAMHSA blending product: Treatment Planning MATRS curriculum using criminogenic risk assessment tools, [i.e. Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS), Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R), and the Federal Post Conviction Risk Assessment (PCRA),] to identify treatment needs and barriers of the criminal justice population with SUDs. This training combines an evidence-based criminogenic risk assessment with an evidence-based treatment planning curriculum in order to help SUD treatment providers and case management personnel work more effectively with offender and community re-entry populations.

Behavioral Management in the Criminal Justice Population: Applying Motivational Incentives to the Offender Population

This course is based on the Blending Team Product: Promoting Awareness of Motivational Incentives, a package of tools and training resources that introduce the principles and evidence base behind the clinical use of motivational incentives. This adaptation combines that original work with the collective work of NIDA, SAMHSA, the National Institute of Corrections, and the experience of corrections professionals. Participants will learn a blueprint for the development of science-based behavioral management programs specifically designed for the criminal justice involved population.

Buprenorphine Treatment Training for the Criminal Justice Workforce

This 6-hour course is an adaptation of the evidence-based blending team product Buprenorphine Treatment: Training for Multidisciplinary Addiction Professionals and specifically addresses the use of buprenorphine to treat opioid dependency in the criminal justice involved population. As opioid (e.g., heroin, OxyContin) abuse and addiction remain critical national public health concerns, the ongoing buprenorphine treatment training package provides information and enhances awareness about buprenorphine treatment for multi-disciplinary addiction professionals.  The need to adapt this training for the criminal justice workforce was evidenced by recent research findings:

·       52% of prisoner populations are addicted to heroin versus 2% of the general population;

·       treatment options for opioid addiction among prisoners  are limited; and

·       following release, there is high incidence of a return to opioid use with serious impact for health, public safety, communicable disease, and return to prison.

Adopting and Retaining Motivational Interviewing in the Criminal Justice Workforce

The New England ATTC provides training and technology transfer consultation to criminal justice organizations in the adoption and implementation of the evidence-based practice of Motivational Interviewing (MI).  The process for this workforce development series employs three phases:

·       Phase 1:  MI: Engaging to Facilitate Change. A credited, self-directed on-line course on MI.

·       Phase 2:  Advanced MI Skills. A credited one day face-to-face training on MI skills

·       Phase 3:  MI Assessment: Supervisory Tools for Enhancing Proficiency (MIA: STEP). A two day credited training that provides concrete tools and practice for clinical supervisors who supervise or mentor treatment providers to enhance their MI skills.

Technology Transfer Consultation:

To complement the series above, web based consultation and learning collaborative facilitation is provided for a period of 6 months.  Web based consultation sessions will occur once per month during one hour video/audio interactive meetings.