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Workforce Challenges in Behavioral Healthcare: A Model Approach to Gathering Systematic Information About Staffing Problems Faced by State Agencies, Programs, and Staff
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| Presenter(s):
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| John Hornik, Advocates for Human Potential, jhornik@ahpnet.com
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| Jenneth Carpenter, Advocates for Human Potential, jcarpenter@ahpnet.com
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| Jeanine Hanna, Advocates of Human Potential, jhanna@ahpnet.com
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| David Wright, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, dwright@odmhsas.org
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| Lorrie Byrum, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, lbyrum@odmhsas.org
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| Abstract:
Although state human service agencies (i.e., mental health, substance abuse, corrections, child welfare, juvenile justice, Medicaid, and health) operate and fund many behavioral health programs, they rarely have detailed workforce information. With the exception of state employees, they do not have data on staff turnover and retention rates, difficulties in recruitment, salaries and benefits, training in core competencies and evidence-based practices, and job satisfaction. This and other, related information, are necessary for planning to assure a stable, competent workforce. The challenge is to fill this information gap in a reliable and efficient way. We undertook a multi-level, web-based survey of organizations, program managers, and direct care staff providing mental health and substance abuse services in Oklahoma. We also made extensive use of several secondary data sources. We found high levels of staff turnover and vacancies, low levels of compensation, and various training needs across six types of behavioral healthcare positions.
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Community Data Collection Systems: Gaps and Recommendations
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| Presenter(s):
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| John Carnevale, Carnevale Associates LLC, john@carnevaleassociates.com
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| Beverlie Fallik, United States Department of Health and Human Services, beverlie.fallik@samhsa.hhs.gov
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| Abstract:
This proposed study will review local-level data collection and analysis processes that provide community organizations and local governments with important information about the scope and scale of community substance abuse and related factors. This special topic study on the existing data gap can assist Federal agencies with policy decisions and can offer ways to provide Federal, state, and community agencies with additional, more proximal, and timely performance data. It will examine local communities and coalitions which have demonstrated success in developing surveillance and indicator systems with minimal resources. The final product will provide guidance for communities seeking to maximize the effectiveness of their efforts to develop substance abuse related indicators and track them over time.
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A Web Survey for Drug Treatment Service Costing
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| Presenter(s):
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| Laura Dunlap, RTI International, ljd@rti.org
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| Gary Zarkin, RTI International, gaz@rti.org
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| Natalie Hodges, RTI International, nhodges@rti.org
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| Abstract:
With scarce resources, substance abuse treatment providers are increasingly required to show that the services they provide are a good investment. Service-level costing helps satisfy this demand by providing detailed cost information; and when combined with outcomes data, service cost estimates also inform about cost-effectiveness for specific treatment services that can help with decisions regarding the best allocation of resources across different treatment options. In response to the growing popularity and utility of Web surveys, we have developed a web-based cost survey (the Substance Abuse Services Cost Analysis Program [SASCAP]) that capitalizes on the advantages of a web-based platform; specifically lower costs and less time associated with survey implementation and data collection. However, survey research suggests that mode of survey implementation may affect data quality. In this study we evaluate two alternative survey methods—the Web SASCAP survey against its established paper-and-pencil version—for estimating service-level costs in treatment programs.
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