Preventing youth overdose: treatment, recovery, education, awareness and training - to prevent youth drug overdose, wcmhs will expand services for youth with SUD by strengthening capacity, improving…

Preventing youth overdose: treatment, recovery, education, awareness and training - to prevent youth drug overdose, wcmhs will expand services for youth with SUD by strengthening capacity, improving coordination and health management, addressing disparities in treatment access and quality, and advancing community SUD awareness of needs and services. This project will serve 300 youth directly with SUD treatment and prevention services, with 80, 100, and 120 people served in project years 1-3. The project's catchment region (washington county, VT) has 12,500 residents aged 10-25, with 45% female, 90% white, and over 1,300 identifying as lgbtq+. Over 12% of youth live in poverty and more than 2,700 youth have a SUD, with more than 2,400 receiving insufficient or no treatment. Wcmhs's has identified key service gaps in washington county, including a significant lack of SUD services, particularly those requiring medication assessed treatment for opioid use disorder, and a low level of awareness about drug use risks, fentanyl additives, and overdose reversal resources. To address these gaps, there is a need to enhance health professional SUD treatment skills, improve data analytic capabilities for population health management, and develop comprehensive strategies for community awareness, engagement, and expanding practices that ensure the successful implementation and awareness of new SUD services. The project's five goals and objectives are: G.1: improve accessibility and quality of youth SUD services in the community. O.1: within PY1 Q2, implement a universal screening process for SUD and CO-occurring disorders in all agency entry points, with at least 80% of incoming youth being screened. O.2: within PY 1, serve at least 70% of existing clients in need of SUD treatment with the new youth program, including youth in need of moud treatment. O.3: after PY1, annually increase the number of youth receiving SUD services by 20%. O4.: after PY1, achieve a 50% increase in referrals and transitions between services (e.g. from school based, outpatient, crisis services, to SUD services) as a result of improved care coordination. G.2: enhance wcmhs staff capacity and expertise in youth SUD services. O.1: be end of PY1, provide integrated dual disorder treatment training to 100% of clinicians serving youth in the outpatient SUD program. O.2: by end of PY1 establish new (internal/ external) care coordination protocols and train at least 90% of clinical staff to utilize them successfully. G. 3: increase community awareness and understanding of youth SUD needs and services O.1: be end of PY1, conduct at least 10 community or school-based training/ educational sessions for community stakeholders. O.2: by endo F PY2, reach at least 500 community members (including youth, parents, educators, PCP's.) through these educational initiatives. O.3: be end of PY2, achieve a 50% increase in community referrals to the youth SUD program. G.4: decrease youth SU in the community through evidence-based programs. O.1: by end of PY2, achieve a 10% reduction in SU among youth participating in agency SUD programming and prevention services, as measured by self report and clinical assessment. O.2: annually, maintain a treatment dropout rate of less than 15%. G.5: increase evidence-based SUD prevention education in schools, community, and health settings. O.1: by end of PY2, ensure 100% of health education teachers in schools, community, and health settings have been trained on an evidence-based SU prevention curriculum. O.2: be end of PY2, wcmhs will have trained at least 75% of school social workers, counselors, and nurses on an evidence based curriculum addressing the prevention of prescription drug/ opioid overdose-related deaths. O.3: by end of PY3, school district health educators will have conducted classes on moud, SUD prevention for at least 90% of youth in middle/high school. O.4: by end of PY3, increase the percentage of students reporting high perceived risk of substance use, as measured by the yrbss.