State College, PA - Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones continued the agency’s statewide stakeholder engagement tour today in Centre County to hear top issues and concerns surrounding the opioid and overdose crises. DDAP’s goal is to gather feedback that will help craft the agency’s plan for increased community and treatment provider engagement while also gaining stakeholder insight to assist the agency’s work on regulatory reform.
“There’s no better way to learn what the local landscape of the opioid and overdose crises is than to go into the community and meet with those who are providing direct services and supports every day,” said DDAP Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones. “This is an opportunity to hear directly from service providers and other responders in the greater Centre County region regarding what successes and challenges they’re currently experiencing and use that information to guide our own state plan moving forward.”
DDAP is prioritizing gaining stakeholder insight to assist the agency with its regulatory reform initiative. Specifically, the agency’s objectives for the regulatory reform initiative include:
· Organizing regulations in a way that makes sense for both providers and patients reading them,
· Updating terminology to use current and consistent terms using plain language while avoiding stigmatizing language, and
· Ensuring regulations are specifically focused and designed to promote client safety, quality care, and positive outcomes and elevate the patient experience.
As part of this stop, Secretary Davis-Jones met with leaders of the Penn State Collegiate Recovery Community, which offers supports for students and alumni in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD), including recovery housing, and joined students at the Bellefonte Youth Center for an after-school activity. The center provides a safe, supervised space for children where they can be with friends, get a snack or a meal, find help with homework, and participate in fun and meaningful activities with staff, including prevention programming. In addition, Secretary Davis-Jones met with members of the Restorative Justice Initiative, which is a group of Penn State students, faculty, staff, and community stakeholders committed to empowering and supporting system-impacted Pennsylvanians, as well as currently and formerly incarcerated individuals through education and meaningful civic engagement.
Secretary Davis-Jones was joined by the Centre County Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention and Drug and Alcohol Office, elected officials, SUD treatment providers, recovery organizations, and other stakeholders for a roundtable discussion on efforts to manage the overdose crisis in Centre County.
The county’s drug and alcohol office is the local authority responsible for prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery support services for residents of Centre County and their families who are affected by the chronic disease of addiction. Case management staff provide outreach, education, referral services, and conduct assessments to connect individuals with drug and alcohol treatment. Intensive case coordination services are available for those who need additional support in connecting to treatment services, as well as accessing related resources to address needs that are a barrier to being successful in achieving a life in long-term recovery.
DDAP recently awarded nearly $1 million to organizations serving Centre County that will help to:
· establish or expand SUD services, community outreach and education to underrepresented communities struggling with the opioid overdose crisis;
· establish a regional recovery hub to enhance resources for individuals in recovery and promote recovery within Centre County and the surrounding region.
Stakeholders of the tour include individuals in recovery and those with lived experience, service providers, active service recipients, community leaders, schools, corrections units, and more. The tour will seek to reach communities and voices less frequently heard. Future tour stops will include Erie, southcentral Pennsylvania, and additional regions of the Commonwealth.
Throughout the remainder of the tour, DDAP will seek to engage stakeholders on SUD issues related to:
· regulations and reform efforts
· data requirements and modernization needs
· health equity work and advancement
· treatment slot management
· improving departmental communications.
Learn more about the Shapiro Administration’s efforts in combating the overdose crisis at pa.gov/opioids.
MEDIA CONTACT: Stephany Dugan - ra-dapressoffice@pa.gov
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