Products and Resources Catalog

The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The August 2023 issue honors International Overdose Awareness Day (August 31), opioid overdose prevention training on HealtheKnowledge, and the newest NIATx in New Places series blog post written by Lynn Madden, PhD, MPA.  And as always, you will find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!      

Xylazine: Understanding the Latest Emerging Substance July 25, 2023, 1:00pm-3:00pm EST COURSE DESCRIPTION Xylazine (or “tranq”) is a non-opioid sedative and tranquilizer only approved for use in veterinary medicine. However, over the past several years, human consumption of xylazine has begun rapidly increasing. Although initially only identified in illicit drug supplies in limited areas, xylazine has been found in 48 states as of April 2023. Xylazine is frequently, though not exclusively, used in conjunction with opioids, particularly fentanyl—due to xylazine’s ability to prolong their effects. Xylazine use presents many potential dangers to people, including increased risk of overdose and the development of necrotizing tissue damage. This webinar will bring together experts from across disciplines to discuss the history of xylazine use, what is known about its current scope of use and consequences, the effects of xylazine on people, and wound care and other harm reduction strategies. It will also offer an opportunity for participants to ask questions in a roundtable panel discussion format. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe Xylazine and its history of use and consequences. Explain how harm reduction strategies need to be adapted for complications in Xylazine use. Describe the current trends that detail the scope and the extent of the Xylazine issue. PRESENTERS Jason Bienert, RN, CWCN Josh Esrick, MPP   DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA) GUEST:  Gail Poirier Section Chief, Strategic Intelligence Section (NIT) Jaclyn Iera Program Manager, Office of Forensic Sciences   SAMHSA:        Jeanne Tuono Assistant Regional Director (Region 3)      

In this Issue:   The Times, They are a-Changin!: The Updated SPF Application for Prevention Success Training (SAPST) Taking a SAPST course Epi Corner: Understanding and Addressing the Needs of LGBTQ+ Youth Additional Resources for LGBTQ+ Youth What's Happening Around the Region?

In this Issue:   Data Gap Spurs Development of Collegiate Survey in Arkansas Additional College Intervention Resources Epi Corner: Substance Use, ACEs, and Mental Health Disorders as Contributors to Maternal Mortality What's Happening Around the Region? SAMHSA Releases New Data on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Behavioral Health

The funder of this project, along with all other products of the Mid-America PTTC is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Although funded by SAMHSA, the content of this recording does not necessarily reflect the views of SAMHSA. During this episode we’re discussing The Eight Professional Competencies for Higher Education Substance Misuse Prevention. To download a copy of the guide visit www.preventioncompetencies.org    David Anderson, Ph.D. is Professor Emeritus of Education and Human Development at George Mason University, where he worked for 28 years; he served as Professor and Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Health.  Prior to that, he served as a college administrator at The Ohio State University, Radford University and Ohio University. He has managed hundreds of national state and local projects while teaching graduate and undergraduate classes.  An active researcher and writer, he has decades-long research on college drug and alcohol issues, high school youth and community efforts. The focus of his work is upon practical applications for youth, young adults, and leaders at the campus, community, state and national level, and he continues with training, speaking and research.  His two most recent books are Leading Campus Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention: Grounded Approaches for Student Impact (co-authored with Thomas Hall; NASPA, 2021) and Leadership in Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention: Insights from Long-Term Advocates (Routledge, 2020).  Other recent books include Health and Safety Communication: A Practical Guide Forward (2017), Wellness Issues for Higher Education (2015) and Further Wellness Issues for Higher Education (2016). He orchestrates the College Alcohol Survey, a triennial survey on campus strategies addressing drug and alcohol misuse, done since 1979 through 2021.  He serves on the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s National Advisory Council and the American College Health Association’s COVID-19 Task Force.  He is active as a community leader in Celebration, Florida, where he serves as a Director with the Celebration Residential Owners Association. ​​​​​​ To gain a deeper understanding of the subject we’re discussing with Dr. David Anderson, listen to the 8-part series about the Professional Competencies for Higher Education Substance Misuse Prevention. A link to the series is available at www.preventioncompetencies.org

  The Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC are dedicated to integrating cultural responsiveness into all our training and technical assistance offerings. We aim to help develop workforce competencies to provide equitable and inclusive care to all. Download this guide to learn more about our growing inventory of evidence-based trainings designed to improve the delivery of culturally-responsive prevention, treatment, and recovery approaches!   If you have questions about the culturally-responsive trainings we currently offer or suggestions for additional culturally-responsive trainings that would support the behavioral health workforces in our region, please contact:  Alfredo Cerrato, Senior Cultural & Workforce Development Officer ([email protected])  

Responsible Marketing Practices Resources for Prevention Specialists Guidelines for Responsible Marketing Practices Responsible marketing practices for prevention specialists are essential for promoting accurate information, maintaining ethical standards, and safeguarding public health. Below are guidelines designed for practitioners who communicate to families, educators, and stakeholders who care about how health messages are communicated in social media and other outreach efforts. Click here to download the NW PTTC Handout for Responsible Marketing Practices. *Note the term “marketing practices” encompasses the outreach or communication practices you may use in your roles as prevention practitioners.   Additional Resources and Webinars: Media in Prevention Webinar 1: Social Media Best Practices Media in Prevention Webinar 2: Media Literacy as a Practical and Transferrable Skill Media in Prevention Webinar 3: Using Media in Substance Misuse Prevention

Use this simple chart & its key questions to map out, track and achieve your own professional development goals. For additional information, view the associated training here. 

Webinar Description The National Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Standards provide a framework to assist organizations to work more effectively and resourcefully with diverse populations. This interactive training will instruct on how to implement the National CLAS Standards within behavioral health care settings to build organizational capacity and provide culturally informed and linguistically conducive services that enhance recovery and wellness pathways, integrate strategies to reduce racial and ethnic disparities and advance behavioral health equity and inclusion for both communities and the professionals that provide care.   Presenter Diana Padilla, MCPC, CARC, CASAC-T, is a Research Project Manager at New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center. She is a senior staff trainer for the Northeast & Caribbean Addiction Transfer Technology Center Network (NeC-ATTC), and a member of the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry. As a cultural agent, Ms. Padilla promotes an equity lens in trainings for engaging diverse communities in need, aligning with evidence and strength-based strategies within behavioral health, addiction, prevention, and recovery supports fields and professional capacities.    Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint  Handout - CLAS Standards Handout - CLAS Checklist  Handout - CLAS Cultural Competence Self Assessment   

  Use the attached fillable PDF to help develop your "why" and think of ways you can share it.     

  This Coffee Chat will explore how, based on an understanding of the etiology of substance use and other risky behaviors, community-based coalitions can build prevention service systems that can have far-reaching impacts. Effective coalitions are key to having these ‘population-based’ outcomes as they know and represent their broader communities, and have the potential of being more skilled at influencing the allocation of prevention resources, community policies & practices, inter-organizational relationships and community awareness, knowledge, and values

This Coffee Chat will explore practical tools and approaches for engaging your coalition in systems thinking and engaging in community-level change. By using a risk and protective factor lens, participants will explore opportunities to engage diverse sectors within their community to impact population-wide changes to reduce substance misuse. Participants will leave with sample tools they can use with their coalition to encourage thinking at a systems-level - as well as plenty of resources to support ongoing skill building within their coalition.

  Webinar Description How we as prevention professionals communicate our prevention messages to our intended audience is key to our success in reaching sustainable long term substance abuse prevention outcomes.  While we have many tools at our disposal, harnessing the power of these tools to convey our prevention message and inspiring our audience to see their place at the table is how we know that our communication strategy is effective.     During this two-part series, we: Reviewed communication goals in prevention and dug into the “who” and the “what” as it relates to promoting our prevention message(s) Explored best practices for creating slides, handouts, and newsletters to support prevention efforts Identified practices that help persuade our target audience to engage in our initiative and take action   Session 2 is an opportunity to review using tools such as newsletters, handouts and slides.   Presenters  Clara McCurdy-Kirlis is a multilingual communications and project management professional and has over 15 years of experience in project development, implementation, and management. She has held lead roles in health and education instructional design for adult learners, e-learning design and delivery, higher education curricula development, and interdisciplinary project coordination. McCurdy-Kirlis has also led communities of practice (CoP) with an emphasis on facilitating dialogue in a safe space where participants can share successes, challenges, and brainstorm solutions together. Clara designs virtual and face-to-face training materials and creates tools, blogs, and informational resources for the Northeast and Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center in English and Spanish.   Additional Resources  Flyer  PowerPoint

The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The June 2023 issue honors National Pride Month, National PTSD Awareness Month, and Men's Health Month by sharing events and resources on these topics. As always, you will find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!    

The Northeast and Caribbean Spring 2023 Newsletter is here. This issue highlights Professional Development for Prevention Professionals and our upcoming trainings. 

  IC&RC Prevention Specialist Certification: What, Why, and How A Panel Presentation May 10, 2023   Panel Presentation Description Regardless of the service, those seeking a provider want to be sure that that person is both competent and ethical. This is especially important when the services are human services, such as prevention of substance misuse and mental illness. The International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium is the only organization that certifies prevention providers. Featuring a representative from each state or jurisdiction’s certification board, this panel presentation will discuss the need and process of becoming certified as a Prevention Specialist as well as highlight information about board-specific requirements and application procedures. By the end of this panel presentation, participants will be able to: Identify at least three reasons why certification of prevention specialists is important Outline the international process for certifying prevention specialists Describe the international prevention certification examination and its development List the certification requirements for their specific state or jurisdiction   Learning Session Materials IC&RC Certified Prevention Specialist Presentation Slides (pdf) IC&RC Certified Prevention Specialist Presentation Recording     Presenter Sandra Puerini Del Sesto, M.Ed, ACPS, is a consultant and master trainer who has provided community and strategic planning, program development, and capacity building in all areas of prevention practice throughout the United States. She was the founder and for 30 years the executive director of a statewide, multi-service prevention program and a founder of Rhode Island’s largest non-profit treatment program. In addition to her prevention work, she was the founding director of the Institute for Addiction Recovery at Rhode Island College. Sandra is a delegate to and the former Prevention Committee Co-Chair of the IC&RC. She is a member of the faculty and advisory board of the New England School of Addiction Studies, a member of the Advisory Board for the National Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC), the National Hispanic/Latino PTTC and the New England PTTC. Sandra is a co-author of SAMHSA’s Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist Training (SAPST) and its Basic and Advanced Prevention Ethics as well as many other courses and webinars. She has previously trained members of the US National Guard in prevention planning. Sandra received her Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College (Newton), and her Master’s degree in counselor education from Rhode Island College. She also completed a certificate program in nonprofit management through Brown University in Providence. Ms. Del Sesto is an Advanced Certified Prevention Specialist. Certification Board Panelists Wayne Giles Arizona Board for Certification of Addiction Counselors Pete Nielson California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals Angela Bolan Hawaii Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division Britany Wiele (on behalf of Natalie Powell) Nevada Certification Board James Arriola Pacific Behavioral Health Council and Certification Board   Questions? Contact Britany Wiele ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

Prevention Spotlight: What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention May 17, 2023   Webinar Description Many trainings and resources focus on what research has shown to be effective to prevent substance use. We also know through research what is NOT effective and sometimes harmful in preventing substance use. Yet communities across the nation continue to implement these ineffective and sometimes counterproductive strategies. The focus of this webinar will be on identifying these ineffective approaches and alternative evidence-based strategies to replace these ineffective strategies. We will also spend time discussing strategies prevention professionals can use to address the resistance often expressed by individuals and organizations reluctant to change long-standing, well-liked, but ineffective prevention practices.   Objectives In this webinar, participants will: Identify interventions that have been shown through research to not be effective in preventing substance use. Identify evidence-based interventions that can be used as effective alternatives to the ineffective strategies. Describe strategies to address resistance to discontinuing ineffective prevention strategies.   Webinar Recording and Slides What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention Recording What Does & Does Not Work in Prevention Slide Deck (PDF)   Additional Resources SAMHSA-SBIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment Alcohol Tax Tool Pre-Emption Tool Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity The Community Guide Reducing Vaping Among Youth and Young Adults Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health Cannabis: Moving Forward, Protecting Health SAMHSA - Preventing Marijuana Use Among Youth National Academies of Science and Engineering: Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility STOP Act Report to Congress   Presenters Alicia Sparks, PhD, MPH, is the Chair of the U.S. Alcohol Policy Alliance and a Senior Principal at Synergy Enterprises, where she serves as the Project Director for NIAAA’s APIS contract, as well as SAMHSA’s STOP Act contract. Dr. Sparks served as Project Director for CDC’s alcohol advertising monitoring project, for which she directed a team of researchers in conducting analyses of Nielsen data to determine alcohol industry compliance with self-governed rules on advertising alcohol to youth audiences. She has more than 12 years of experience in alcohol policy research, including designing, implementing, and evaluating studies, programs, and policies. Dr. Sparks has led the development of numerous publications on alcohol policy, including the 2022 Implementing Community-Level Policies to Prevent Alcohol Misuse evidence-based resource guide and the 2016 Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health. She has published more than 20 peer-reviewed manuscripts and has presented at more than a dozen conferences. She is co-chair of the Alcohol Policy conference series and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Global Alcohol Policy Conference.   Rick Collins is a Cincinnati, OH native who has resided in Hawai‘i since 2003. He specializes in public health policy on alcohol and other drugs. He is the co-founder of the Hawai‘i Alcohol Policy Alliance and the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth, and he currently serves as Coalition Director for three community coalitions across Hawai‘i. His experience includes building new community coalitions, community organizing, and building coalition capacity to implement community-level policy strategies that reduce the harms of substance use. Rick currently serves as a board member for the US Alcohol Policy Alliance. He is a Certified Prevention Specialist and holds an MS in Counseling Psychology from Chaminade University   Questions Contact Kathy Gardner ([email protected]) if you have additional questions about the content related to this webinar.

Amy Ronshausen is the Executive Director of both Drug Free America Foundation and Save Our Society from Drugs. Both of these national nonprofit organizations work to defeat drug legalization attempts, promote sound drug policies, and prevent drug use, abuse and addiction. Amy is passionate about reducing illegal drug use and drug prevention, coordinating grassroots advocacy campaigns, prevention summits, analyze and track state and federal drug policy legislation, and training prevention professionals at local and national conferences. www.dfaf.org (drug free America foundation)  www.saveoursociety.org (save our society from drugs) https://onechoiceprevention.org/ (One Choice) https://www.listenfirstproject.org/ (Listen First Project) https://learnaboutsam.org/ (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) https://onechancetogrowup.org/ (One Chance to Grow Up) The funder of this project, along with all other products of the Mid-America PTTC is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Although funded by SAMHSA, the content of this recording does not necessarily reflect the views of SAMHSA. Did you know nearly 700 publications and digital products are available online at https://store.samhsa.gov Learn about the real risks for people who use marijuana, especially youth and young adults, and women who are pregnant or nursing. SAMHSA has online resources available at www.samhsa.gov/marijuana 

Webinar Description This event detailed successful processes for prevention professionals to communicate our prevention messages to the intended audiences and best approaches for using common communication vehicles. Learning Objectives Included: · Review communications goals in prevention · Review best practices to create and share messages that build community support for prevention initiatives · Identify strategic practices to apply in using communications tools to support prevention · Reinvigorate communications messages using a positive prevention frame   Presenter Information Kimberly Elliott is the communications director for Education Development Center's U.S. Division. She is a highly skilled nonprofit leader with 20 years of experience. Kim has been involved with all aspects of crafting meaningful and impactful messaging campaigns. She is a strategic storyteller, a book author, a highly successful grant writer, and is dedicated to helping prevention workforce professionals move our work forward by harnessing the power of words.  Ivy Jones Turner, MPA, CPS is an expert in behavioral and mental health promotion and prevention, is an experienced program leader, technical assistance (TA) specialist, applied researcher, and evaluator. Her expertise includes building the capacity of schools and organizations to research, implement, evaluate, and sustain interventions to prevent substance misuse, suicide, youth violence, and bullying, and to promote social-emotional and mental health. Ivy holds an MA in Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and is a certified specialist in prevention and conflict mediation in Massachusetts.   Additional Documents  PowerPoint  Flyer  Supplemental Resource

  Webinar Description During this webinar, participants explored the steps in data-driven public health planning processes to guide prevention efforts and examine the role and importance of goal- and objective-setting within such a process. We examined the differences between goals and objectives and described how to develop clear goals and SMART objectives, working through examples of each to improve them. Also considered were barriers to setting and pursuing goals and objectives in prevention planning efforts and the real-world benefits and challenges of committing to this type of process.   Presenter Information Clara McCurdy-Kirlis is a multilingual communications and project management professional and has over 15 years of experience in project development, implementation, and management. She has held lead roles in health and education instructional design for adult learners, e-learning design and delivery, higher education curricula development, and interdisciplinary project coordination. McCurdy-Kirlis has also led communities of practice (CoP) with an emphasis on facilitating dialogue in a safe space where participants can share successes, challenges, and brainstorm solutions together. Clara designs virtual and face-to-face training materials and creates tools, blogs, and informational resources for the Northeast and Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center in English and Spanish. Jess Goldberg is a Training and Technical Assistance Specialist with Education Development Center. For over a decade, Jess has specialized in building capacity to improve behavioral health at the national, state, regional and local levels. Her areas of expertise include preventing youth substance use; promoting cross-sector collaborations; addressing health disparities; strategic planning, logic model development, and sustainability planning.  Jess is a Certified Prevention Specialty and holds an MSW and an MPH from Boston University.   Additional Documents PowerPoint  Flyer   

Webinar Description This webinar is intended to provide the latest information available on Xylazine, including associated effects on the body and long-term impacts on opioid users, and to review current organizational strategies to help prevent exacerbated and related harm.   Presenter Information Diana Padilla, MCPC, CARC, CASAC-T, is a Research Project Manager at New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University Medical Center. She is a senior staff trainer for the Northeast & Caribbean Addiction Transfer Technology Center Network (NeC-ATTC), and a member of the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry. As a cultural agent, Ms. Padilla promotes an equity lens in trainings for engaging diverse communities in need, aligning with evidence and strength-based strategies within behavioral health, addiction, prevention, and recovery supports fields and professional capacities.   Additional Documents PowerPoint  Flyer  Handout - Wound Care Information   Fact Sheet - Xylazine in the Drug Supply   

The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The April-May 2023 issue honors National Mental Health Awareness Month, National Children's Mental Health Awareness Week, National Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, and National Prevention Week by sharing events and resources on these topics. This issue also features an upcoming in-person conference and an exciting, new intensive technical assistance training series sponsored by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.    As always, you will find links to all the upcoming events and trainings for the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC in The Great Lakes Current.       

The Great Lakes Current is the e-newsletter of the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC.   The July 2023 issue honors National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month and World Hepatitis Day (July 28) by sharing events and resources on these topics. This issue also features newly released episodes from the Checking-In Podcast that focus on PTSD treatment providers' self-care and a new HealtheKnowledge course developed by the Great Lakes ATTC: NIATx Change Leader Academy: Rapid-Cycle Change for Teams.    As always, you will find links to all upcoming events and trainings hosted by the Great Lakes ATTC, MHTTC, and PTTC!