Resource Library

This SAMHSA report looks at state and federal laws and policies that encourage braided funding to provide substance use disorder services, best practices for braiding funds, and pathways to sustainability for substance use disorder programs.

This Surgeon General's Report has been created because of the important health and social problems associated with alcohol and drug misuse in America. As described in this Report, a comprehensive approach is needed to address substance use problems in the United States that includes several key components:

Enhanced public education to improve awareness about substance use problems and demand for more effective policies and practices to address them;

Widespread implementation of evidence-based prevention policies and programs to prevent substance misuse and related harms;

Improved access to evidence-based treatment services, integrated with mainstream health care, for those at risk for or affected by substance use disorders;

Recovery support services (RSS) to assist individuals in maintaining remission and preventing relapse; and

Research-informed public policies and financing strategies to ensure that substance misuse and use disorder services are accessible, compassionate, efficient, and sustainable.

These strategies have the potential to substantially reduce substance misuse and related problems; promote early intervention for substance misuse and substance use disorders; and improve the availability of high-quality treatment and RSS for persons with substance use disorders.

Guide on Multiple Pathways of Recovery: This guide has been developed to promote and explore the varied pathways of recovery. This guide is a beginning and is intended to show people there are many choices in recovery. This guide is an accessible resource for individuals, families, and treatment professionals seeking information by outlining and describing different pathways to recovery, sharing personal experiences of individuals who have found recovery in different ways, and demonstrating the diversity of recovery.

This SAMHSA report provides background history of the development of Peer Recovery (PR), including an overview of the current landscape of PR Programs. This report also provides a description of the variation in peer recovery rates, supervision, credentialing, and substance use disorder vs mental health.

The delivery of effective and appropriate services to individuals with psychiatric disabilities who have been involved with the criminal justice system continues to pose significant challenges to both the mental health and criminal justice systems. Programmatic initiatives have focused on either early diversion from the criminal justice system or reducing rates of recidivism. Jail diversion efforts, for instance, have used mental health courts and drug courts to reduce or slow the entry of people with behavioral health issues into jails and prisons, and there is a renewed emphasis on training local police officers to better manage their interactions with individuals with troubling behaviors.On the other hand, a new generation of reentry programming — and dollars — has sought to meet the complex needs of those released to the community with little planning, preparation, or effective community programming.

FPS is a person-centered, strength based support system offered to individuals with Mental health and/or co-occurring challenges become involved in the criminal justice system. Forensic Peer Support starts from initial contact with law enforcement all the way through re-entry into the community after release from incarceration.

Implementing trauma-informed approaches within primary care marks a fundamental shift in care delivery that supports improved utilization of services, improved patient outcomes, increased staff satisfaction and healthier work environments.

Trauma occurs in all populations regardless of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality or geography and the impacts of trauma are long-lasting affecting development, wellness and stress response across the lifespan. There are effective strategies primary care providers can implement to improve the health and resiliency of individuals with histories of trauma resulting in better patient and provider outcomes.

From a Region 6 Peer Support Conference, this panel discusses the transformative nature of having equitable access to care and peer supporters with lived experience for trans, non-binary, and intersex folks and the joy and emotions of gender.

This glossary includes terms describing key concepts and components of the HIV and opioid use disorder (OUD) care and treatment systems. It is designed to support cross-sector communication and collaboration among providers, administrators, agency staff, and consumers as they strengthen these systems to offer integrated, high-quality care for people with HIV and OUD. Use this glossary to increase understanding among staff in each sector of clinical, service delivery, and service setting terms and acronyms used by staff in the other sector.

The purpose of Guidelines for Successful Transition of People with Mental and Substance Use Disorders from Jail and Prison: Implementation Guide is to provide behavioral health, correctional, and community stakeholders with examples of the implementation of successful strategies for transitioning people with mental or substance use disorders from institutional correctional settings into the community. This guide serves as a direct successor to the 2013 publication Guidelines for the Successful Transition of People with Behavioral Health Disorders from Jail and Prison (Blandford & Osher, 2013), a collaborative product of the SAMHSA’s GAINS Center with the Council of State Governments Justice Center, and the 2002 report A Best Practice Approach to Community Re-Entry from Jails for Inmates with Co-Occurring Disorders: The APIC Model (Osher, Steadman, & Barr, 2002). The guide is intended to promote jurisdictional implementation of the APIC Guidelines through the identification and description of various jurisdictional strategies that have been adopted in efforts to facilitate successful community reentry for justice-involved people with mental and co-occurring substance use disorders.

The introduction provides an overview of the background on peer support and outlines the purpose and preparation of the Guidelines. The document is comprised of two sets of guidelines.

Guidelines for the Practice of Peer Support, provides an overview of the elements for the practice of peer support, along with the guiding values, principles of practice, and skills and acquired abilities to be respected by all involved in peer support programs that offer a more formal or intentional form of peer support.
Guidelines for the Training of Peer Support, focuses on the training of peer support workers and outlines the skills and knowledge to be included in training programs designed to prepare someone to provide peer support.

HealtheKnowledge is an online learning and continuing education platform for health and behavioral health professionals. There is no cost for membership. Once you register for an account, you can enroll free of charge in any number of top-notch courses for a Certificate of Completion. Most courses also offer Continuing Education credits at the cost of $5 per credit hour.