Downeast Maine MAT Expansion Project: Year 1 Data Summary

This report summarizes the Year 1 activities of the Healthy Acadia Downeast Maine MAT Expansion Project. Through a collaborative effort of Healthy Acadia, its providers, the Downeast Substance Treatment Network and Downeast Substance Use Response Coalition, the project utilized multiple evidence-based strategies to combat opioid use disorder (OUD) in Downeast Maine. Key findings focused on: capacity building, stakeholder engagement, organizational and peer support, payment and reimbursement issues, the creation of low-barrier access to MAT, barriers, including stigma, to MAT patient-centered approaches auxiliary recovery supports For more information, please contact M. LIndsey Smith, PhD at [email protected]

SUPPORT for ME Needs Assessment Summary.

Maine Department of Health and Human Services contracted with the Catherine Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine to conduct a baseline needs assessment. The overall goal was to better understand the current capacity to address substance use in Maine; find barriers to receiving and utilizing SUD treatment and recovery services; and identify any gaps in SUD-related services in the state. The Cutler team conducted interviews, surveys, community listening sessions and focus groups with healthcare key informants (leadership from health systems, residential care, recovery housing, behavioral health agencies), providers (medical, behavioral health, first responders, residential treatment, law enforcement, opioid treatment), youth ages 12-21, and community members across Maine. The team also analyzed health claims data to identify how common substance misuse is among MaineCare (Medicaid) members and what types of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and support services MaineCare members use. For more information, please contact the principal investigator, M. Lindsey Smith, PhD, at [email protected]

Evaluation of Maine DOC\u27s Medication-Assisted Treatment Pilot Program

Maine is among the states hardest hit by a national trend of non-medical uses of opioid prescription drugs and illicit opioids, with subsequent increases in opioid-related morbidity and mortality. While there are significant state and local efforts underway in Maine to improve access to treatment and recovery support services for individuals with OUD, rates of opioid related overdoses and deaths continue to remain high, particularly among individuals who have interacted with the criminal justice system.The Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine was contracted by the Maine Department of Corrections to conduct an independent evaluation of the rollout of the Maine Department of Corrections MAT pilot program. This program evaluation was designed to offer a summative assessment of the implementation experience; to document programmatic policies and procedures to examine whether and/or how these approaches affect program delivery; and to provide feedback to Maine DOC and other key stakeholders to help guide the refinement and expansion of the delivery of MAT in Maine correctional facilities. The principal goal of the evaluation of the MAT pilot program was to provide the Maine DOC and other relevant stakeholders with feedback on the planning and implementation of the MAT pilot program. Our evaluation questions were focused on examining four key domains of interest: infrastructure and system change; planning and implementation; care delivery and satisfaction; and care coordination. This evaluation includes a strong public health perspective grounded in the use of the CDC’s evaluation framework that applies a population health model ideal for evaluating multi-sector interventions like the Maine DOC MAT pilot program. Evaluation activities were also rooted in the Reach, Efficacy,Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (REAIM) framework and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). This evaluation has shown that the Maine DOC MAT Pilot Program is uniquely situated to provide critical treatment services to individuals who are at significantly higher risk for the negative consequences associated with SUD. Using a comprehensive planning process which included broad stakeholder engagement; collaboration across organizations and sites; training and education for facility staff; and the development of policies and procedures that address the specific needs of participating facilities, the Maine DOC, has been able to significantly expand their capacity to deliver MAT to individuals in carceral settings throughout Maine. Findings indicate that, while there are opportunities to continue to refine the program, overall the implementation of the Maine DOC MAT Pilot Program has been successful. Feedback from participants indicates that the program is meeting their treatment needs and has helped them to maintain access to care as well as sustain their recovery post-incarceration

Evaluation of Maine DOC’s Medication-Assisted Treatment Pilot Program

The Cutler Institute at the University of Southern Maine was contracted by the Maine Department of Corrections to conduct an independent evaluation of the rollout of the Maine Department of Corrections MAT pilot program. This program evaluation was designed to offer a summative assessment of the implementation experience; to document programmatic policies and procedures to examine whether and/or how these approaches affect program delivery; and to provide feedback to Maine DOC and other key stakeholders to help guide the refinement and expansion of the delivery of MAT in Maine correctional facilities

Interim Evaluation Report by the Independent Evaluator for the New Hampshire Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program

Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) programs are part of the broader Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Section 1115 Waiver programs and provide states with significant funding to support system transformation efforts. CMS approved New Hampshire’s five-year Building Capacity for Transformation Section 1115(a) Medicaid Demonstration Waiver in 2015. The overall goal of the DSRIP Demonstration is to improve the care for New Hampshire’s Medicaid Beneficiaries with behavioral health disorders by addressing workforce and infrastructure shortages, improving care transitions, and integrating physical and behavioral health