The Mental Health Fund Inc

RECOVERY FIRST: ADULT REENTRY COMBINING TRANSITIONAL HOUSING, HEALTHCARE AND SOCIAL DETERMINATES OF HEALTH SUPPORT - THE RECOVERY FIRST PROJECT WILL PROVIDE REENTRY SUPPORT FOR ADULTS RELEASED FROM INCARCERATION OR WHO WILL BE RELEASED WITHIN 4 MONTHS, AND WHO HAVE SUD AND/OR COOCCURRING SUBSTANCE USE AND MENTAL DISORDER. MAJOR GOALS ARE TO REDUCE RECIDIVISM; AND PROMOTE SOBRIETY, EMPLOYMENT, INDEPENDENT HOUSING, PHYSICAL HEALTH, AND BRAIN HEALTH. SUPPORTS WILL INCLUDE RECOVERY HOUSING, SUD TREATMENT, AND ASSISTANCE ADDRESSING SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH (SDOH). THE PROJECT ALSO WILL REDUCE PARTICIPANTS’ SDOH RISK FACTORS; HELP PARTICIPANTS TRANSITION TO INDEPENDENT HOUSING; AND HELP THEM OBTAIN EMPLOYMENT OR ENROLL IN EDUCATIONAL OR JOB PREPARATION PROGRAMS. THE COGNITIVE CONNECTION, A LOCAL SUD PROVIDER SERVING CATAWBA COUNTY SINCE 1995, WILL PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED SUD TREATMENTS AS A PARTNER IN THIS PROJECT. THE PROJECT WILL SERVE AT LEAST 30 UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS EACH YEAR AND 150 DURING 5 YEARS; PRIORITIZING SERVING INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN UNDERSERVED BECAUSE OF RACE, GENDER, ETHNICITY, OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION; OR DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF ONE OR MORE SDOH CHALLENGES, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO LACK HOUSING UPON RELEASE FROM INCARCERATION. THE RECOVERY FIRST PROJECT WILL USE MULTIPLE EVIDENCE-BASED STRATEGIES, INCLUDING SCREENING BRIEF INTERVENTION AND REFERRAL TO TREATMENT AND SUD TREATMENTS SUCH AS SUBSTANCE ABUSE INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT TREATMENT, SUBSTANCE ABUSE COMPREHENSIVE OUTPATIENT TREATMENT, INDIVIDUALIZED COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY, AND MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT WITH FDA-APPROVED MEDICATIONS FOR OPIOID AND/OR ALCOHOL USE DISORDER. EVIDENCE-INFORMED STRATEGIES WILL ALSO BE USED, INCLUDING RECOVERY HOUSING, SDOH SUPPORT, AND REENTRY SUPPORT. TO GUIDE IMPLEMENTATION AND ADJUST STRATEGIES AS NEEDED, WE WILL USE A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT MODEL KNOWN AS THE MODEL FOR IMPROVEMENT THAT USES A PLAN, DO, STUDY, ACT STRATEGY. IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE EQUITY AMONG POPULATION GROUPS SERVED BY THIS PROJECT, WE WILL MONITOR RACE, ETHNICITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND GENDER IDENTITY OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS, AND ADJUST REFERRAL AND ENTRY PROCESSES WHEN POSSIBLE, TO ACHIEVE OPTIMAL EQUITY AMONG PARTICIPANTS. THIS WILL IN SOME CASES INVOLVE MAKING NECESSARY MODIFICATIONS TO THE EVIDENCE-BASED OR EVIDENCE-INFORMED PRACTICES THAT WE USE IN THE PROJECT. THIS WILL BE AN ONGOING PROCESS USING MODIFICATION STRATEGIES THAT MAINTAIN THE FIDELITY OF EACH OF THE STRATEGIES USED, WHILE ADDRESSING THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS AND PREFERENCES OF EACH PRODUCT PARTICIPANT. THE PROJECT WILL IMPLEMENT A COMPREHENSIVE CLINICAL ASSESSMENT THAT INCLUDES THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ADDICTION MEDICINE (ASAM) RATING SCALE FOR EACH PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANT, IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL OF CARE BASED ON EACH PERSON’S NEEDS, PREFERENCES, AND DIAGNOSES. INTERVIEWS OR INSTRUMENTS USED WILL REFLECT THE LANGUAGE, NORMS, AND CULTURAL VALUES OF PROJECT PARTICIPANTS. THIS WILL INCLUDE REPEATED MEASURES OF THE NATIONAL OUTCOME MEASURES (NOMS), SDOH ASSESSMENT, AND CRIMINAL THINKING SCALES. MONTHLY URINE DRUG SCREENS WILL BE ADMINISTERED TO MONITOR ABSTINENCE. PROJECT PARTICIPANTS WILL BE SCREENED FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES, PARTICULARLY THOSE FOR WHICH INDIVIDUALS WITH SUD ARE AT HIGH RISK. THIS INCLUDES HIV AND VIRAL HEPATITIS SCREENING. THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE TRAINING OF PROJECT STAFF MEMBERS ON BEHAVIORAL HEALTH IMPLEMENTATION FOR THE NATIONAL STANDARDS ON CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY APPROPRIATE SERVICES (CLAS), ESPECIALLY AS THEY RELATE TO THE SPECIFIC TARGET POPULATION FOR THIS PROJECT. DATA ANALYSIS WILL INCLUDE INTERPRETIVE AND PREDICTIVE ANALYSES USING TOOLS SUCH AS MICROSOFT’S POWERBI AND SPSS. THESE ANALYSES WILL PROVIDE DATA FOR THE PROJECT DIRECTOR TO USE TO MAKE ANY MODIFICATIONS NECESSARY TO ASSURE FIDELITY TO THE PRACTICES BASED ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE ARE ACHIEVING PROJECT GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND OUTCOMES.