The Co-Occurring Center for Excellence will help identify best practices in treating co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders and will support the application of these practices through technical assistance and cross-training, state of the art materials, and a website.
The CDM Group Inc., Chevy Chase, Md., working with the National Development & Research Institutes, Inc., New York, the Center for Behavioral Health, Justice & Public Policy at the University of Maryland, and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, will operate the technical assistance center under a $2.6 million one year contract renewable for 5 years.
Assistance will be available to all states, and to substance abuse, mental health, criminal justice, education, and other social and public health systems seeking to enhance their ability to serve individuals with co-occurring disorders.
"This program builds on SAMHSA's Report to Congress on Prevention and Treatment of Co-Occurring Substance Abuse Disorders and Mental Disorders," SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie, said. "That report acknowledged that too often individuals are treated for only one of the two disorders, if they receive treatment at all. This contract is part of SAMHSA's action plan to help states and other entities create a system for treating people for both disorders, so any door the individual walks through for medical care will be the door to comprehensive treatment."
Nationwide, almost 4 million Americans have co-occurring serious mental illness and substance abuse problems, according to SAMHSA's latest household survey. This number would be much higher if it reflected less severe mental illnesses or less severe substance use problems.
The technical assistance center will help identify best practices in treating co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders using criteria identified through SAMHSA's National Registry of Effective Programs. The contractor will provide assistance that will enhance knowledge, systems development and the ability of states to serve individuals with co-occurring disorders.
All requests for technical assistance must be made in writing and sent to The Co-occurring Center for Excellence, Jill Hensley, Project Director, 5530 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1600, Chevy Chase, MD 20815 or by e-mail to samhsacoce@cdmgroup.com. Any questions regarding these services should be directed to the COCE team at 301-951-3369.
