RD362 - Report to Identify All Public or Private Organizations that May Raise and Disburse Funds for Substance Abuse Recovery Support Services -- Response to House Bill 271 (2012) - December 1, 2012


Executive Summary:
The 2012 General Assembly required the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to submit a report that identified all public or private organizations that may raise and disburse funds for substance abuse recovery support services in accordance with the fourth enactment clause of House Bill 271 (Peace):

"4. That the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall submit a report to the Governor by December 1, 2012, that identifies all public or private organizations that may raise and disburse funds for substance abuse recovery support services in the Commonwealth."

The full bill text is included as Appendix A. The purpose of this report is to identify how many such public and private entities exist so that prior to the 2013 Session, the General Assembly will have an opportunity to consider this information in its deliberations.

To define substance abuse recovery support services, DBHDS used the definition first developed by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for its 2006 Request for Proposal for Recovery Support Community Services Program and reiterated in subsequent SAMHSA grant opportunities as recently as 2011, as well as other published literature:

1.) emotional support;
2.) informational support;
3.) instrumental support; or
4.) affiliational support.

Substance abuse recovery support services may be offered by individuals, community organizations, or public entities such as community services boards (CSBs). These services do not include professional treatment services of any kind, including aftercare, nor do they include recovery support services provided by professionals.

The 40 CSBs address substance abuse problems at the community level, largely by providing professionally rendered treatment services. The contracts between DBHDS and each CSB include goals to expand recovery support services that are provided by professional clinicians. Most recently, General Funds were awarded by DBHDS to support five recovery support programs based on the SAMHSA definition.

DBHDS strategic planning efforts include a considerable focus on substance abuse recovery support services, including services provided by peers, in both the Code-required biennial Comprehensive State Plan and DBHDS’ administrative strategic plan, “Creating Opportunities: A Plan for Advancing Community Services.” The strategic plan developed specifically for substance abuse services, “Creating Opportunities for People in Need of Substance Abuse Services: An Interagency Approach to Strategic Resource Development,” includes a proposal to expand peer-run support services, which can include recovery support services, in the Commonwealth.

In order to prepare a report identifying all public or private organizations that may raise and disburse funds for substance abuse recovery support services in the Commonwealth, the DBHDS Office of Substance Abuse Services solicited input and assistance from representatives of organizations that were either involved in providing the types of services described or were likely to know of these types of organizations. The goal was to develop a comprehensive list of such organizations.

The list was developed by surveying a large array of community organizations (a total of 7,231 potential respondents) and resulted in a total of 130 identified entities statewide. The communication from the Commissioner is Appendix B and the list of public and private organizations is included as Appendix C. The results of this survey suggest that resources and capacity currently exist within Virginia communities to raise and disburse funds to provide substance abuse recovery support services.