Goals and Tactics

Goals

Short-Term: Identify community stakeholders in regions across Michigan to participate in cross training sessions for networking and mutual learning, while eligible clinicians receive medication-assisted treatment (MAT) waiver training.

Long-Term: Strengthen and expand relationships between regional stakeholders, to improve access to/utilization of MAT and rates of sustainable recovery for persons with substance use disorder — the chief desired project outcome.

Tactics

Treatment court teams were connected with community-based providers to obtain clinical perspectives, while physicians and other health care providers gained a better understanding of the workings of treatment courts and the need to coordinate medical interventions with the patient’s court program.

Follow-up meetings and webinars provided insight into the effectiveness of the project’s approach, and MSMS surveyed participants to determine whether behavior change was adopted (judges allowing the use of MAT, increase in physicians offering MAT, etc.).

Regional Cross-Training Sessions

Stakeholders, including judges, drug court and jail staff, primary care and mental health providers, treatment program staff, local public health officials, and others were convened for regional training. Curriculum content was specifically designed to be responsive to local needs and to emphasize the use of networking and case studies. The Collaborative assembled local planning committees in each region to develop local ownership of the overall process, and MSMS assisted the committee by coordinating the event, scheduling meeting space and speakers, messaging, and preparing meeting materials.

Follow Up Meetings and Webinars

As part of each initial cross training, plans were developed for follow-up meetings and next steps. The key focus was to develop sustainability, rather than a one-and-done approach.

Tele-Mentoring

MSMS employed a tele-mentoring platform following the in-person meetings to provide virtual support to court and health professional members around MAT utilization and other challenges requiring coordination.

MAT Waiver Training

In coordination with each regional cross training session, health care professionals in the community were given the opportunity to participate in MAT waiver training sponsored by the grant.

Surveys

Post-event surveys were circulated to gather participant feedback and gauge overall effectiveness of the trainings.