New York State Curriculum—Central Library/Learning Center

By establishing the Dual Recovery Web Site the New York State Office of Mental Health has responded to a rapidly increasing need for an electronic central library/learning center where current and historical data that is relevant to the treatment and recovery of persons with dual disorders can be accessed. During the past decade the information base concerning the diagnosis, treatment, recovery and prevention of co-occurring disorders has been increasing at a geometric rate.

A source for multi-populations

The Dual Recovery Web Site is a central location of comprehensive and latest information for clinicians, consumers and families as well as a dynamic "online community" which encourages and supports continued exploration and increased understanding of the various and complicating aspects of dual recovery.

Design of Initiative

Quality, evidence-based clinical resources, (i.e. basic clinical information, articles, best practice models, and evidence-based practice guidelines, etc.), easily accessible by all as is a necessity of daily clinical practice.
A sustainable information tool, issue oriented chat rooms, self-administered learning modules, consumer teaching and sharing as well as stimulate on going continuing educational activities.

The dually competency workforce project integrates a myriad of cross-agency mental health, substance abuse, health and human services in the treatment of persons with co-occurring psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. This workforce development project consists of two major parallel, complementary initiatives:

Interagency OMH/OASAS Basic Dual Recovery Curriculum Development
and Train-the-Trainer (T-T-T) Implementation
Intensive cross-training for experienced dual-recovery clinical supervisors,
case managers, and other direct-service leadership staff

WORKFORCE COMPETENCY INITIATIVES

Regional Focus Groups—(one located in each OMH Field Office Region and balanced for urban/rural and other dimensions) will be conducted to assist in identifying workforce-competency development needs and priorities.

Central
Western
Hudson Valley
New York City
Long Island

Curriculum Development Forum—will be conducted in a 3-4 day working retreat utilizing the Focus Group reports, best practices and training literature to accomplish its tasks.

The Forum membership will consist of 30 persons with advanced knowledge and skills in the area of co-occurring psychiatric and addictive disorders.

Intensive Cross-Training—for experienced dual recovery clinical supervisors, case managers, and other direct-services leadership staff.

Eight intensive, once-monthly, cross-training sessions in eight geographic "cluster group" sites will be delivered by SUNY Upstate Medical University to 240 experienced dual-recovery clinical supervisors, case managers and other direct service leadership staff.

Outcome Assessment—evaluation of the proposed workforce competency development will be done by SUNY Upstate Medical University. The evaluation will proceed along both formative and summative lines.

Formative evaluation is embedded within the project design.

There are numerous opportunities for participants to review work products, make suggestions for changes, and have those suggestions incorporated into revised products. After each major activity participants will be given written questionnaires in which they indicate whether or not the goals of the activity were met and can offer suggestions for future activities.

Summative evaluations will take several different forms, in order
to adequately assess the impact of the training:

Scenario-Based Evaluations—In an effort to assess the transfer of the training of core competencies to actual clinical cases, the training participants will be given pre- and post-clinical scenarios to determine the impact of the training on clinical practice.

Surveys of individuals who have been through training—Surveys will be conducted 6 months to a year following the training and will ask participants to rate the degree to which they learned from the training, the usefulness of their learning, the extent to which they have implemented the core competencies of the training, and the specific competencies that have and have not been implemented.

Qualitative assessments—Focus groups of individuals who have undergone training will be conducted in each region. Members of the focus group will be asked to provide examples of the ways in which competencies were and were not implemented, the challenges and benefits of implementation, and the perceived results of the implementation.