Director's Corner
Director's
Update - Winter 2007
Kimberly A. Johnson, Director
OSA's Driver Education and Evaluation Programs has proposed to the Maine Legislature that all OUI offenders attend a DEEP education program. Currently, offenders may opt to enter directly into counseling and thus miss the opportunity to attend a program. DEEP's education programs are the 20-hour Risk Reduction Program for adult offenders and the 16-hour Under 21 Program. Both programs use the research-based “PRIME for Life” curriculum, which has been shown to change participants' attitudes and behaviors, reduce recidivism, and lower their risk for future alcohol- and drug-related problems. A study comparing the recidivism rates of those who take a DEEP education program with those who go directly to treatment showed that those who do complete an education program were 50% less likely to re-offend. Actual offenders who have participated in DEEP's education programs have overwhelmingly reported a positive experience, and many of them have described it as life changing. DEEP believes that offenders receive such a positive benefit from these programs that those who do not take an education program miss a golden opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and insight and critical tools to help them reduce future risk.
OSA is working on a significant redraft of treatment contracts. As much as possible we are going to eliminate cost-based contracts and move to a real performance-based system for state fiscal year 2008. Our current thinking is that we will provide grant funding rather than cost based contracts with as much as 10% of the funding being at risk. So, if an agency exceeds performance criteria, it may get an incentive payment of up to 10%, but if it does not meet minimal performance criteria, it will lose as much as 10% of its grant. The performance criteria will change as well. While we will continue to use number of units provided as our primary performance criteria, rather than using the client outcomes that we have in the past, we are going to focus on access and retention. We will be looking at how quickly people get into treatment and how long they are retained in treatment. Because this is such a dramatic change, we will be holding meetings and sending out more information in the next few months.
Underage drinking is a continued cause for concern here at OSA. According to the 2006 Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey, alcohol use among 10th graders is considerably higher in Maine than nationally. 38.2% of 10th graders in Maine reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to the state survey, compared to 33.2% nationally, according to the Monitoring the Future survey. Also, binge drinking among 12th graders is slightly higher in Maine compared to the rest of the nation (29.4% here, 28.0% nationally). Drinking among youth is a concern for many reasons, including a recent study that showed an association between early initiation of alcohol use and dependence later in life. First lady Karen Baldacci and Attorney General Steven Rowe recently helped us thank 15 law enforcement agencies for helping us with our Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Grant.
The Public Health Workgroup has come to consensus on 8 county or multi-county public health regions and is recommending a system of Comprehensive Community Health Coalitions within those regions. This structure will help us distribute funding so as to facilitate true statewide coverage for our programs for the first time. For more information on the Public Health Workgroup, go to: www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/phwg/phwg.htm.
Maine is involved with eight other states in a project we are calling the mutual assistance project (MAP). We are working with these eight other states, the Treatment Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School of Business at UPenn to research business and clinical practice improvements that can be driven by state level policy change. We are asking questions like how do we get the most efficient and effective services? What business models work best? How do we purchase services to maximize client benefit? Is there a way to segment the market to better meet the clinical needs of the clients? The states will choose several projects to pilot as a group and develop tools for others and add to the growing body of literature on the business of addiction treatment.
March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month and March 19-25 is Problem Gambling Awareness Week. OSA is part of a Maine coalition that includes the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations, the Gambling Control Board, Maine Council on Problem Gambling, and the Ad Care Educational Institute of Maine who are dealing with this growing problem. During March there will be training for professionals in the field as well as a Governor's proclamation, public service announcements, paid advertisements, and experts making themselves available to the public on the subject of problem gambling.
I'm excited to welcome some new people to OSA.
Photos of: Guy Cousins, Deb Brucker, Maryann Gotreau, and Ross Martin
Guy Cousins is our new associate director. He has degrees in education and social work—an LCSW—and has been working in the mental health and substance abuse field since 1983. He has federal, state and non-profit experience and is a past member of the Maine Board of Licensed Alcohol & Drug Counselors. Deb Brucker is OSA's new Data and Research Unit supervisor. She has extensive research experience in human services and substance abuse most recently in New Jersey but also in Vermont and even here at OSA several years ago, so some of you may remember her. She has a master's in public administration and is in the process of completing her PhD. Maryann Gotreau is a new OSA prevention specialist and is primarily responsible for our underage drinking grant. She has a master's degree in public policy from the University of Southern Maine . Ross Martin is our new communications coordinator. He comes all the way from Utah where he spent more than 20 years in executive public relations positions, mostly in public health. He also has experience as a journalist.
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Previous Updates
What's New - Fall 2006
What's New - Spring 2006
What's New - Fall 2005
What's New - Summer 2005
What's New - Spring 2005
What's New - Winter 2005
What's New - Summer 2004
What's New - Spring 2004
What's New - August 2003
What's New - January 2003
What's New - August 2002
