SOR 4.0 TAP SBIRT Project Orientation / Meeting Transcript
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: carry over. All of you are here because you have applied for funding with us. All of you will be doing a SBIRT project with us, and this is the beginning of Oh. understanding what DSAM does, some of the grant requirements, and then who the players are on the DSAM team that are going to be assisting you along the way with your project. So, if you’re not familiar with us. And Zoom meetings. Please know that if you have background noise, if you could please be muted. We will have an opportunity, as we go through the presentation, to ask questions, and we’re at the end, and we are going to give you a lot of information. And if you have a question early, feel free to put it in the chat, so this way, when we get to the end of the meeting or the session, that we make sure we don’t miss any of this. Are we recording? Yep, so we will also make the deck available, the slide deck available for you. We will also make the… Recording available as well. Next slide, please. Great. Next slide, please. So, this slide here is, as I introduce myself, Sherry Struck, I’m the Deputy Chief of SOAR Program Implementation here at DSAM. Brent Waninger is our deputy… our director. Joni Patterson, she’s on the call, she’s our Deputy Director, supporting the project as well.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Nalima Raman-Nassili is our SOAR Program Management Coordinator. She’s probably not on the call, but will be either joining us later or is very much involved in your projects with Your funding and your spending. Ilya King is the planner for the project. She will also be in your program integrity meetings. She will probably attend some on-site visits with you, and your most contact will be with Program Integrity Specialists. We have Lauren, Nicole. Abby, and Louisa, they will be assigned to… each of you will have a program integrity specialist assigned to your organization, so you can ask questions directly, too, so you can meet them. They should have already been in contact with you with email regarding your Letter of agreement that was signed, and your project. Next slide, please. So, some of the agendas, we’re going to go briefly over the SOAR grants, we’re going to talk about the TAP program. We’re going to talk about some of the requirements that are… that you’ll be asked to complete. We’re going to have reporting requirements, and what those guidelines are, and when you’ll report to us. You’re gonna… we’re gonna talk about some program integrity items with expectations and how your program integrity specialist can help you as the project moves forward.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: We’re also going to have a small presentation on DTRAN, which all of you are required to participate in. We’re also going to talk about technical assistance, which is… If you need support, with items. to help implement your project, or if you need more assistance than what DSAM can provide, we have consultants that work with DSAM and support the project. We have the ORN, through the feds that also supports the project. So we have a whole multitude of players. That will help support the project that you’re implementing, because we do want all of your projects to be successful, and most of you are very new. to SOAR funding and grant funding, so we know that you’re going to need a little more support than the regular organizations that have been with us. But we’re here to help and guide you along the way. Oh. And then we’ll get into… yeah, we could stay on this slide, and then we’ll get into next steps and answer questions that you may have. So, as we move into SOAR 4, just to give you some background, it’s a national state opioid response initiative, we call it SOAR for short, and it is to address the opioid crisis, mostly driven by fentanyl use. And the increase in demands that are needed for medication for opioid use disorder treatment, and supporting
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: prevention and risk mitigation and treatment and recovery services. We’ll also talk about some providing resources. SOAR is the federal funding source that provides funding to the state of Delaware and to territories for evidence-based treatments and practices and interventions for opioid use disorder and stimulant use disorder. So that’s the big initiative. from the feds, SAMHSA… Provides our funding source, that’s the federal agency. the money comes into Delaware, and then DSAM, the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, is the people that are on this call that gets the funding, and we, as the recipient, we give the funding to you as organizations and subrecipients. So, it’s about being aligned with Projects across the state with opioid use disorder and helping fight and reduce the crisis that’s going on with people that are addicted. Next slide, please. So some of the vision is really for Delawareans to have a positive outcome with their long-term recovery. You are the beginning step of breaching clients, With the project that you’re going to be implementing. Some of the priorities are for Delawareans to get rapid access to low-barrier medications for opioid use disorder, for them to have access to services that will address stimulant use, also about special needs.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: special health needs of populations and how they’re going to get the services they need. We’re also going to talk a lot about social determinants, throughout your project with, your program integrity specialist and how it works, Concurrently with opioid use disorder clients. And it’s… some of your role will also be about Providing support for those clients that you’re going to interact with, and them navigating through care transitions, so they don’t fall through the crack… the cracks in the system. It’s also about reaching individuals or Delawareans that would not otherwise be screened or reached through regular activities. So, your role, your organizations come from a vast majority of organizational structures, and I like the diversity, I like that you’re going to be able to touch different populations in the groups that you’ll be working with. And it’s also about us having a pathway and creating a partnership with you. So, we are absolutely excited and thrilled about you, being on board with us. And I believe this is where I’m going to turn it over to Abby, our program… one of the program integrity specialists, to talk about the Tier Award Program.
Abigaie Hamilton PIS DSAMH: Yes, thank you, Sherry. Good morning, everyone. I will be discussing the TAP award program, our tier award program, which is also known as TAP, for carryover. Next slide, please. So… TAP overview. What is TAP? The TAP award program, the TR Award Program, TAP, is an initiative from DSAM to provide short-term categorical funding Opportunities, which are the tiers, to partners across the state to assist in responding to opioid overdose, opioid or overdose epidemic. TAP began in 2021 and had continued to evolve with each year of SOAR funding to help more people in Delaware who have or are at risk for opioid use or stimulant use disorder, OUD or STUD. How is TAP funded? DSAM’s SOAR 4 grant is funded by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA. This… this solicitation is for a new funding opportunity under SOAR 4, Year 1, Tap Tier 4A carryover available to eligible organizations for the period of June 19, 2026 through September 29, 2026. Funding for TAP depends on final approval and appropriation of funds from the federal government. All selected projects are contingent on federal funding availability. Next slide, please. So what is the goal… what is the goal of a 4A project?
Abigaie Hamilton PIS DSAMH: To support organizations to implement screening, brief intervention, referral to treatment. And then the plus, which would be the follow-up, for early intervention of individuals at risk for or with opioid use disorder, OUD, and stimulant use disorder, STUD. What is SBIRT Plus? SBIRT Plus is a comprehensive, integrated approach to the delivery of early intervention and referral to treatment services for persons with substance use disorder, SUD, as well as those who are at risk of developing those disorders, these disorders. Next slide, please. Thank you. So what is SBIRT Plus? Which, we discussed earlier. It’s the screening, followed by brief intervention, which takes typically 5, 5 to 10… it could be from 5 to 20 minutes. And then, followed by, if that client is open to it, they would, You would make a referral, and they would… accept and go to a treatment, receive treatment, and then you would follow up with them or the facility, or community-based organization that you referred that client to. So just following up once they test positive for it, and then, following up on those that tested positive who agreed to attend Screening. So I’ll go over it individually. Screening. Use the use of a validated screening tool to check all clients for substance use, opioid, and stimulant use at a frequency appropriate for the setting. And these screening tools, for example, and these are just examples, you’ll probably use your own, you have the DAS10 and then the Audit C.
Abigaie Hamilton PIS DSAMH: Brief intervention. If a client shows signs of… shows signs of risky substance use, provide 1 to 5 short, supportive sessions. These sessions should use motivational interviewing, a technique that helps people make positive choices in a non-judgmental way. referral. the next step in the SBIRT. If a client needs more help or treatment, you must have a formal path or partnerships to connect them to treatment quickly. And this is with the use of the Delaware Treatment the Delaware Treatment Referral Network, DTRN, which you will, be required to join, 30 days… 30 days of starting your project. So the follow-up portion of the SBIRT would be your plan must include ways to stay in touch with clients or partner service organizations to check if they received the help that they needed. Next slide, please. So the TAP requirements, we’ll start with the first requirement. Thank you. The first requirement will be your tab payments, so your initial payment. Upfront payments cover startup funds for estimated expenditures for the project. The monthly invoicing starts July and continues through the remainder of the project. And then submitting these to your program integrity specialist. Submit invoices, to your specialist by email.
Abigaie Hamilton PIS DSAMH: Next slide, please. Alright. So, your TAP invoices, submissions, each sub… oop, I am sorry. I will hand it over to Nicole.
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: Alright, thank you. So, when you look at, your TAP invoices, there’s a couple things that you’ll need to make sure that you do, as far as, like, following the submission requirements. So, each submission must include both a cover letter. in a spreadsheet. And… your PIS will provide you with these templates, and they’ll review it. You are always more than welcome to reach out to your PIS. I’m sure you guys will have questions about how to do it, but we’re always here to provide any type of support. So your invoices must be emailed by the 10th of each month. to your PIS, which is for the previous month. So, let’s say, for example, your invoice must be emailed by July 10th to include all the information from June. So for DocuWare Communications, that’s the system that the state of Delaware uses to process and manage contract documents and any type of payments. So an organizational email address must be provided to receive the DocuWare communications. And it’s required, and it keeps you informed when payments are being processed, and any new providers who are not yet in the DocuWare system must complete this step. On the next slide, you know, we’ll talk about what the required meetings are. So, you will be required to attend
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: Spert Plus training to show you the proper way to, assess your clients. You will be required to have monthly PIS meetings. And that’s just for monitoring to make sure that your program is moving along as far as implementation goes, to address any questions or concerns, for us to review invoices, things like that. And then technical assistance, that will be something that is required as well. On the next slide, you can kind of go to the next one. So, the reporting requirements that I mentioned before, one of them is your monthly reporting. So, every month, you are required to submit your data for the previous month. So, one web survey is used for all monthly data reporting. The survey, which is part one. is where you would be submitting information about your universal measures. So, how much work is occurring. And then for the part two of the survey is the additional performance measures. So that’s used to evaluate how well the project has performed, and if anyone is better off as a result. And this is the part that will also include both the standardized and provider-specific measures. So in your LOA, where you included different Data points that you would be reporting on. That’s where you would see that at.
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: On the next slide. we can kind of go through what the universal measures look like. So when you say due, that’s the number of unduplicated clients who were due to be screened in the last month. Screened is just that, the number of clients that were actually screened. Positive is of those screened who were actually positive, and you want to keep in mind that when you say unduplicated, so if you, counted them in your last month’s count, they would not be included in the current month that you’re working on. Of those screened positive in the last month, you want to know who was referred to treatment. And then as far as follow-up, you want to make sure that you are doing just that, following up with Your clients, or… wherever they were referred to to receive treatment from. So the first follow-up, should really happen within the first 14 days. And then the second follow-up, is between 15 and 30 days, and sometimes the referral is refused, but the follow-up should still happen, because sometimes situations change, people change their mind, and you want to make sure that you’re not missing that step. And then as far as engagement goes, you want to make sure that of those that were screened positively the month before, that unduplicated count, they were connected and engaged in treatment in the last month.
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: Next slide. So when you… when you’re thinking about how you’re going to be reporting out on this data, The definitions guide is available on the ATRC website, and that’s the Addiction Treatment Resource Center. That’s where you would have found the information about solicitations, different information. And it’ll define the terms used in the universal and Standardized Measures, if you need that. It does not define the unique provider performance measures. That would be the questions that you all included in your applications. And the website is right there. We can put that in the chat for you. If you would like to check it out. And if you have any questions, you can email, the DSAM.org mailbox anytime. We do check that mailbox regularly, so if there is a question, know that it will be addressed, in some way. All right.
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: Thank you, Nicole. We’re just gonna briefly go over program integrity monitoring. Next slide, please. As Sherry had mentioned before, your four program integrity specialists are myself, Lauren, Kamar, Nicole Cowan, Abigay Hamilton, and Luisa Barrero. Next slide. For program integrity monitoring, the oversight and progress of monitoring barrier reduction and support guidance to help subrecipients understand and comply with the requirements of DSAM’s SOAR 4.0 funding. So really, we’re here to support you. Our support is going to focus on financial reporting, your prog… project implementation, performance measurement, and compliance with laws and regulations. As a reminder, whenever we ask questions, it’s because we want to make sure that you’re in compliance and nothing comes sideways at you. Our approach is we do check-in calls monthly, site visits normally in a year-long process, or once a quarter at the minimum. For you guys, it might be a little more than that, just because we are on a truncated… time frame. Each TAP subrecipient is required to participate in your monthly check-ins. This is… required. You need to check in with your PIS monthly, have your meeting, go over everything your PIS wants to go over. You’re gonna do receipt reviews, check in on your
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: Clients that you’re engaging with, etc. For those meetings, you should expect to have your project lead, your data lead, and your fiscal lead encouraged to attend all of your meetings. Especially when there are questions around data or fiscal purposes, it’s really important that those people who are involved are part of that conversation. Next slide, please. Maintaining strong financial documentation is very, very important. You’re going to want to keep all receipts, no matter what. Handwritten receipts are not valid, and as a side, we’ve been letting all of our current recipients know Anything like Cash App, or Venmo or anything like that is only acceptable if it is being used with ACH. type, deposits. So you can track it to your business bank account. Nothing from a personal account, no handwritten notes of cash, anything like that. As far as receipts as well, we are looking for canceled checks. So, if you received an invoice for something and you paid it, we want to see that canceled check at some point. Be sure to carefully track your expenditures and ensure that they align with your approved budget categories. Not that you need to bring it down to every paperclip you buy, but keep it within your budget categories. Again, if you ever have any questions.
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: safer than sorry, ask your PIS and get the okay from them before you make any Any purchases or, pay any invoices that you’re not sure about. Again, submitting invoices on time and ensuring they include all your required documentation, that’s really to make sure that we can pay you in a timely manner. again, submitting invoices on time by the 10th of the following month, and making sure that your data is submitted, your Qualtrics data. So again, those performance measures is submitted by the time that you are submitting your invoice. We’ve also been advising our current recipients. When you submit that data, you can take a screenshot of your submission, and that will fast-track us being able to approve your invoice. Again, if you have any questions on that, we can go further into that later. Please make sure you’re following your program and letter of agreement guidelines. I would… Make sure that everyone involved with the project is really aware of your letter of agreement requirements to ensure that you’re in compliance with our expectations. Any changes to the project or the implementation plan or budget must be communicated and approved by DSAM prior to them happening. And then we, please flag any potential challenges early. Let us know as soon as possible that any issues that could be impacting your implementation. We are here to help you.
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: As well as we have technical assistance for coaching available as well. So, we are, once again, here to help. Just keep us in the loop, and we’ll make sure things go as smoothly as possible. And then… I’m gonna hand it back to Sherry to go over DTRAMP.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Yes, alright, thank you. Thank you, Lauren. So… All of you, or a lot of you, have been already asking us about DTRAN and getting registered for the training. It is a requirement of your letter of agreement to be registered in DTRAN, and it’s also a good tool for you to use when you need to refer clients for treatment. So, we’re giving you the tool, it’s free to use. Annalisa Johnson is the point of contact on this DTRAND requirement. She is the one that will send you an email and schedule your training. Usually, they’re on the call supporting the webinar, but DTRAM was going live today with another initiative, so they’ve asked us to cover for them today, so we are covering. It will be the same information. And hopefully most of you have already been reached out to and have scheduled training with the DTRAN team. Next slide, please. So, what is DTRAN? It is the state’s comprehensive referral network for behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment that’s been developed by DSAM, and it’s a cutting-edge referral system designed to enhance care transition for behavioral health and substance use treatment. As a key initiative in addressing the opioid crisis, DTRAN strengthens the statewide efforts to connect individuals with services they need efficiently and effectively.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: And that’s saying a lot. Simply saying it, it’s a platform where you can look and see the list of providers and where they’re located and the service they provide in order to directly connect a client that is in need of something. At its core, DTRAND is transforming the referral process by fostering collaboration among healthcare providers, streamlining access to care, and improving communication across the treatment continuum. By reducing referral times and enhancing service coordination, the network ensures that individuals receive timely and high-quality care when they need it most. And you will be… all of you will be at the forefront of using that platform And, as it’s new to you, It’s easy to use. You’ll get comfortable with it, you’ll be able to go in if you refer a client, you’ll be able to go in and see where that client is, that they made it to that appointment, and that they’re still in the program that you referred them to. Next slide, please. So DTRAN was created to solve a critical challenge within Delaware’s system of care. There were fragmented referrals and missed connections. There were gaps in the system when DTRAN was originally created, and I believe it was created in SOAR 2.0.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: And each year we do enhancements to it, and it does centralize and streamline the referral process. and connecting providers and improving care coordination across the state. It reduces delays and enhances communication, and the network ensures that individuals receive the right care at the right time. And just to give you a little bit of what’s on the… on DTRAN, There’s over 165 licensed providers that are actively participating. There’s been over… 250,000 referrals that were processed. And it is faster, and it’s more efficient, and the information that’s in it is much more accurate, and helps with decision making. It also serves the community through the Treatment Connections portal, which is public-facing, where individuals and families can submit referrals directly, where they don’t need a log on, that they can… it makes the access to care simple and convenient. And DTRAN is more than a platform. It’s a unified, statewide network that brings together providers, organizations, and the public to ensure that no one falls through the cracks in Delaware’s system of care. Next slide, please. So under 4A, DTRAN is… it’s an important resource for all the subrecipients to support the referral to treatment component of SBIRT. It’s the last two letters, the R and the T. It’s for non-site treatment providers, like primary care offices, FQHCs.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Physical therapy groups, and other community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations and churches, where you can refer clients to a said treatment provider if they screen positive, or if they’re at risk for developing substance use disorder. Substance use disorder treatment providers can refer clients to social services and healthcare or other community-based services. So it is not just a one-way platform. Treatment providers can also refer to other services. And non-treatment providers can refer to treatment providers. So it’s a two-way platform that helps everyone get into, the right treatment plan that they need. Next slide, please. Alright, some of the features of the e-referral system, it’s also called open beds. It helps with decision support for providers and consumers, including detailed inclusions and exclusion criteria for specific services to ensure quality referrals to treatment. There are some programs that may have an age requirement, or may have a race requirement, or where they’re located. If you’re a Sussex County provider, and your client’s in Sussex County. You would probably not do well trying to refer them to a provider in Newcastle County unless they live in Newcastle County and or have transportation.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: There’s also an inventory of outpatient and inpatient services that includes psychiatric crisis, dual analysis, withdrawal management, and residential treatment beds and wait times. It is very It’s very easy to use, and as you get onto that platform and you start pointing and clicking, you’ll be able to see all the different things that’s available and how it meets the whole continuum of care. And supporting the continuum of care for the client. There’s also a registry of social services or resources that are available for whether direct or indirect referrals. And it’s a two-way provider communication that allows you to, Send the client’s information, their name, some medical records, some consent forms to that treatment provider so they are ready, and good to go when they… when that referral is made and they show up for their Their treatment at the next step. There’s comprehensive data aggregation and analytics capabilities. That’s something that DSAM does on the back end of the platform. It’s also part of what we talked about in the previous slide of over 250,000 referrals made on the platform. as our director, Joanna Champney, has said, that this is a real-time, one-line inventory of services.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: that we’ve seen at a statewide increase in referrals for treatment, as well as reduced referral times. Moving to this electronic referral means our clinicians can complete prior authorizations quickly and ensure a smooth admission process for the most vulnerable populations. So it is a… it’s a… it’s a very, efficient and effective platform that we use. It is SOAR-funded, and we… make changes to it every year to make processes better, because at the end of the day, we want to help clients that have the needs and to ensure that they get the services that’s available to them. Next slide, please. So it says there’s going to be a demonstration of DTRAND. That is, actually not going to happen today. That will actually happen when you do your training, and it will be a point-and-click training session where you’ll be able to get in and see the simplified referral submission process. The real-time referral tracking, you’ll be able to see how treatment providers. process after-hour… after-hour referrals and the timeline they, they have with that. There’s also provider directory and services available, like what services each provider does and where they’re located. And there’s also the ability to To, secure and have, data sharing, that is secure and compliant.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Next slide, please. Alright, so if you have any questions with anything on… or related to DTRAND, Here’s the website. DSAMCares360 at delaware.gov. It’s also on the… a few slides… slides prior to this that had Annalisa’s information, the point of contact for DTRAN. It is also, if you have questions, to Program Integrity Specialists as you meet with them and work with them. or communicate with them, you can send them an email, and they can get you connected to what you need regarding DTRAN. Next slide, please. Alright, technical assistance. That is, who is that?
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: Meat.
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: Nicole.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Okay.
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: Nicole.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Nicole. Thank you.
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: No problem. So, technical assistance, it was one of the things that I mentioned as far as a requirement, as one of our providers, and basically the idea of technical assistance It’s just that, you know, it’s targeted support, and professional development that helps healthcare professionals improve their skills and knowledge in a specific area of practice. So. If you are doing a specific thing under this grant, and you need some support with it, or you’re not sure how to specifically go about doing it as it relates to, some type of healthcare process, or if it’s a skills or knowledge issue. We do have technical support, and it’s intended to be helpful. to your organization, and You can get technical support in any of the following things, like program implementation, just putting your evidence-based practices into action, different levels of patient care. Teamwork and communication amongst your staff, and fidelity monitoring, which is underneath that, SBIRT, where you’re talking about the screening of your clients. So, TA is offered in group settings, which is required. You do need to… I believe it’s 5 hours of TA that you’re required to do, but it is also available to you one-on-one, so if there’s something specific that your organization needs help with, we can help you with scheduling to get TA.
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: On the next slide… I can… Explain to you what… the approach is kind of like, so there’s learning modules, and there’s a learning network series, and so you can complete it online, the modules, they’re on SBIRT, and submit certificates of completion. and the Opioid Response Network, or the ORN, it’ll facilitate regular group learning sessions. We’ll provide more information when we have it. Learning sessions will include brief review of core concepts, interactive learning and role playing, peer collaboration, and just coaching for how to implement the SBIRT and the training. So, any TEP subrecipients must… attend at least 5 hours, like I was mentioning. And any key staff that’ll be conducting or supervising the SBIRT must participate. You’re welcome to have other staff participate, but at least the ones that are administering the SBIRT need to be there. And any additional TA required can be assigned by DSAM. So, if we were having a monthly monitoring meeting and we’re discussing some challenges that your organization is having, as your PIS, we can also say, hey, we recommend, you know, that you guys do a little bit of TA, and it doesn’t have to be very long, but it just needs to kind of help be a solution to whatever challenges you might have.
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: So, the fidelity monitoring, it really refers to the degree to which a program or individual adheres to the specific standards and procedures outlined in your EBP. Which is just critical for successful implementation, sustainability, and just growing the EVP. So, the program integrity specialist, we will conduct one assessment of each subrecipient’s SBIRT+. implementation using the proficiency checklist, once at the beginning of the period, and once at the end. So, because this is a short period, it will probably be during the first meeting that you’ll have with your PIS, and the last one in that last month. And it’s just intended to be a learning opportunity, just to assess the strengths and challenges that you have with implementing the SBIRT. And in identifying ETA needs, it might be around, motivational intervention, or just really how to use the SBIRT successfully, and how to implement it into your process. Great. So any extra information that you would like is on the ATRC website. I did put it in the chat. And on the website, you’ll find that we have a pretty robust resource library, training and technical assistance, calendar of events, which you can always check out, and our data hub. There’s news, all kinds of things that are regularly updated.
Nicole Cowan, PIS DSAMH: And a TA request form, if you know right now where you might have reviewed your application and you’re like. we’ve started this process, and we need a little help, sooner than later, you’re more than welcome to look at the TA request form and submit it to kind of get the ball rolling with getting you scheduled to get some technical assistance. You can request TA at any time. And that is the form to do so. You can also email your PIS, your Program Integrity Specialist, and just let us know that you need some assistance, and we can also submit a form for you. Alright, so yeah, using the ATRC website. It’s very helpful, and you can continue to address those TA… TA needs through all the following acronyms, the ORN, ATRC, DCM staff, and HMA, and it is an ongoing thing. Great. And I will, leave it open if you have any questions, but you can also email any of your questions to the DSAM ORT mailbox. Okay.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Yeah, all right, thank you, Nicole, and thank you, everyone, for participating. I know it was a lot. As you meet with your program integrity specialist, you are going to go over All the items that we just went over, except on a one-on-one level. And that’ll be an opportunity for you to answer very… or ask very direct and pointed questions, and it will also be for your program integrity specialist to give you Some expectation and guidelines of the sewer grant. Because at the end of the day, we know it is a very short grant period. Projects are to end September 29th. And… that is when the… The grant ends for year 2. You will also… And it’s a lot. You’re going to be asked to do a lot of work in this three and a half months. So just… we know that you’re going to have a lot of questions. We know it’s your first time doing this. We are here to support you, and we have people that are not on this call that are available to support you through this. We do expect All of you to submit data. by the 10th of the following month. I know we’re already in June, and projects started on Friday. But when we get to July 10th, we will be expecting to see data submitted in Qualtrics, and we would be expecting to see an invoice.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: You will get a invoice cover letter and an invoice spreadsheet from your program integrity specialist, and they will walk through that with you. We know that you… have, this may be new to you, and we will work with you to get your paperwork in order, because at the end of the day, you will move to a cost reimbursement stage after your initial payment period of 2 months is is over. And we want you to be paid timely. And… For those of you… That may have seen, we did already submit your initial payments that were on your budget. Some of those payments should have already been processed, and you may have already received. If you are a provider that has not received your initial payment by the end of the month, that you should reach out to your program integrity specialist and say, hey, I haven’t received my initial payment. just so we can put eyes on it, the state is in its fiscal closeout. The new fiscal year starts July 1, so there is a transition between FY26 and FY27 for us, but we were very intentional with getting your initial payment request in so you could be Receive that initial payment timely. Nicole also talked about your technical assistance training. You will be required to do technical assistance training. Your letters of agreement say 5 hours.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: We know that may not… be the case with it being a shortened grant period, that it may only be 3 hours or 5 hours. It will depend on how much support you need with your activities, and how we believe your performance is with Getting us deliverables. So hopefully, You guys are all excited about the projects that you’re doing. I know I’m excited about it, I’m excited about the new partners. I’m also excited that all of you made it to this webinar, so I like participation, because that’s really the first test of Of this showing up and following the instructions. So, thank you for that. And at this point, I’m going to open it up and see if anyone has any questions.
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: Real quick, Sherry, can I just interject? Because we were talking about the performance measures and the data. Just so all providers know, you will be receiving an email from me later this afternoon or early tomorrow with your verified metrics that you’re going to be reporting on, and so there may be a little back and forth. Please be timely in your responses to me, just so we can get, our website updated, so you have a place to update your metrics. That’s all I wanted to say.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: No, thank you for that, Lauren. Yeah, and some of it is, some of you reported some performance measures on your application. They were slightly different than what was, that is different than the SAMHSA requirement, so we have, modified it to align appropriately, and your program integrity specialist will walk through that with you, so there is clear communication of what the expectation is of what you should be reporting and how you should be reporting it. So we sort of start off on the right, on the right month with the right information. Anybody else have any… Questions? I would like to know who is not… Registered for DTRAN. Or scheduled for DTRAN training.
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: It looks like Bay Health at this point.
Bayhealth- Carrie Hart: That’s correct.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Okay. We’ll get you there.
Bayhealth- Carrie Hart: Thank you, I’m so sorry, I feel like…
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: Carrie, I’ll reach out to you, and I’ll get you connected with Annalisa.
Bayhealth- Carrie Hart: Appreciate that. Thank you so much, Lauren.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: And the other thing that’s going to happen is all of you will have to do SBIRT training. There are online modules. That you’ll… you’ll be able to complete at a self-paced session. I think it takes maybe an hour to do, and that will prepare you for when we do the, the virtual training. with our, ORN, consultant that will do that, and sort of help you and do a little bit more with you. I think, we have somebody from BBS On the call that could probably tell me a little bit more, when that’s scheduled, or remind me when it’s scheduled. I think it’s scheduled July.
Victoria Pauline | BBS: What was the question, Sherry?
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Ta for SBIRT… when is the first?
Victoria Pauline | BBS: Yes, it is scheduled in July. Give me one second. Session 1 is on July 21st.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Okay, alright. So that gives you all a little bit of time to spend some time with your program integrity specialist, and I believe the email will go out for that SBAR training, and it will say. Prior to the training, please complete the online modules, which will give you a little bit of a… some guidance of the expectations. The sooner you do those online modules, the sooner you’ll have a grasp on, on doing it, and then, by the time you get to the training, you’ll… and through the training, you’ll be… I’ll be experts at it. So, Latoya’s got a question about, if… and I think the question is if there are scheduled TA dates that when staff are on vacation, is there a makeup, or will you have individual training? The answer is we will work with you, but… What should be helpful to you is you should not be the only person that is on your project. Somebody else from your team should be able To attend that training. If that’s not possible, we’ll work through it with you.
Latoya Pendergrass – Teach21 Enrichment Inc.: My question, I’m sorry, because I was trying to type it really quick, but I was just asking, can we have the dates that are already on the schedule so that I can send them to my staff, because I know it’s summertime, and some people have vacations planned?
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Yeah, thank you. Victoria, I think, is that a reasonable expectation?
Victoria Pauline | BBS: Yes, I think whoever from DCAM is sending the follow-up email could include those dates and times in the follow-up email.
Lauren Kahmar PIS DSAMH: I have all of them, so I’ll make sure all the PISs have them.
Victoria Pauline | BBS: Perfect. Thanks, Lauren.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Yeah. Do you have… do you have them now, Victoria? If you do, just drop them in the chat. Yeah, I can do.
Victoria Pauline | BBS: that as well. Yeah.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Let’s make it easy for everyone.
Latoya Pendergrass – Teach21 Enrichment Inc.: Thank you, guys.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: Yeah, alright, good question so far. What else do we have?
Attack Addiction: Where can I find the, modulars at that we can complete prior to the training?
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: The online modules, the online SBIRT?
Attack Addiction: Yes.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: And Victoria, sounds like you’re going to be busy here.
Victoria Pauline | BBS: I certainly am.
Attack Addiction: Thank you.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: So I think what we’re probably going to have to do is, when we send that… the follow-up email from this meeting, that we will, find where those modules are, and get you a link, and get you connected to them. Does that sound reasonable, Victoria? Probably, because I think we have to ask, probably Casey or somebody else. And I could tell you this, they are, when you complete those modules. You’ll get a certificate. So please, either screenshot that certificate, or print the certificate, because your program integrity specialist will need that certificate.
Mbwidiffu Dibal-Menopause Clinic: I do have a question. What about the technical assistance, training? Is it the same as SBART, or is it a separate thing that we have to do?
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: So that is… that is… technical assistance is anything that we deem an organization or a provider will need to help implement their project. So, SBIRT falls within that technical assistance realm. If you have identified something else that you need technical assistance with, we will schedule that for you. But it has to be technical assistance for something that is SOAR-related and project-related.
Mbwidiffu Dibal-Menopause Clinic: Okay, thank you.
Sherry Szczuka-DSAMH: and does… Anyone else have any other questions? Anything they need to talk through or want to talk through? All right, then. If there are no other questions, there’s nothing else in the chat. I want to thank you all for attending. I want to thank you for being a partner with DSAM, and I want to thank you for, being attentive to this, and understanding, and being part of helping Delawareans, make an impact on this opioid crisis going on. And we’ll look forward to seeing you real soon. Your program integrity specialist will reach out to you. If you have questions, please reach out to us. Please use the DSAM. dot ORT at Delaware.gov resource mailbox. We can connect you with what you need. Other than that, thank you all, I appreciate you.