$50.7 million to enhance addiction services in New York

Funding will support a regional network approach to prevention, treatment & recovery services to address addiction
Funding & services provided in every county

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced the award of up to $50.7 million to providers throughout New York to expand access to addiction services. The majority of this funding will go toward regional networks designed to support a continuum of care that includes prevention, treatment and recovery. Further funding will go toward enhancing COTI services, recovery centers, prevention coalitions, and the Triple P prevention program within these network areas. This funding is part of the state opioid response federally supported grant administered by the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports.

"While we continue to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing opioid epidemic, we are reinforcing our commitment to supporting New Yorkers struggling with addiction," Cuomo said. "This award funds all regions of New York for a broad range of services, including mobile service delivery and telepractice expansion, strengthening our nation-leading continuum of addiction care across the state. These resources are available where and when New Yorkers need them most."

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, co-chair of the New York State Heroin and Opioid Task Force, said, "During this extremely challenging time posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to make sure that lifesaving resources and services are available to any individual struggling with addiction in all parts of the state. This funding will further boost prevention, treatment and recovery care, and reinforces New York state's commitment to ending the opioid epidemic once and for all."

OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez said, "As we continue to work to address addiction amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that we ensure that all New Yorkers, in all regions of the state, have access to lifesaving addiction services. OASAS has always supported a collaborative care model of addiction services, and with this funding we are able to build on our work with our community-based provider network to strengthen these collaborations and reach more people in need."

A press release stated, “New York has a robust system of addiction care and, with better collaboration and coordination, people in need will experience easier access to care, including medication for addiction treatment, as well as more successful transitions between residential and outpatient settings, and better integration of prevention and recovery supports. The funding awarded under this initiative supports efforts to find regional approaches to care, and is designed to help prevention, treatment and recovery providers increase their collaborative efforts to address the entire continuum of addiction services. Providers who receive funding have identified specific needs in their region and proposed services to address the gaps in care.”

Regional networks are made up of multiple providers, in most cases serving multiple counties, in a region. Award amounts are listed below along with the counties served by the network.

In addition to the regional network awards listed above, funding will also support the following initiatives within the counties served by the networks.

•Center of Treatment Innovation Services – $6 million: COTI service providers are tasked with expanding access to treatment of opioid use disorder through peer services, mobile service delivery and telepractice capability. COTI providers work to break down existing barriers to treatment and connect people seeking services to the help that they need. Between 2016-19, overdose deaths in counties with COTI services decreased by between 42% and 64%.

•Recovery Centers – $2.9 million: Recovery centers are designed to promote long-term recovery with professional staff, peers and volunteers who provide multiple services to engage and support people in recovery. Recovery centers offer skill-building classes, support groups, referrals to services, sober events and recreational programs. These services are designed to empower people in recovery from addiction in a way that is responsive to the needs of the individual, their family, and the community.

•Prevention Coalitions – $1.4 million: Community-based substance use prevention coalitions bring together diverse community stakeholders to facilitate, implement and sustain effective substance use prevention strategies that meet local need. The SOR funded coalitions expand the reach of substance use prevention coalitions into Empire State Poverty Reduction Initiative localities to further build local resources in high-risk communities to effectively address addiction health disparities.

•Triple P Positive Parenting Program – $938,000: The Triple P Positive Parenting Program is a prevention program that supports families by providing parents or caregivers clear strategies to respond to a child's needs while remaining calm. It promotes healthy familial attachment as children learn and meet developmental milestones. The program has been shown to reduce risky behaviors among youth, such as substance use and juvenile offending, as well as encourage positive social behavior and emotional wellbeing. It has also demonstrated success in reducing parental depression, stress, anxiety, and family conflict, and increasing positive family interactions.

Since taking office, Cuomo, the press release said, has “instituted an aggressive, multipronged approach to addressing the opioid epidemic, and created a nation-leading continuum of addiction care with full prevention, treatment and recovery services. To combat this epidemic, the governor has worked to expand access to traditional services, including crisis services, inpatient, outpatient and residential treatment programs, as well as medication assisted treatment, and mobile treatment and transportation services.”

In 2016, Cuomo's Heroin Task Force recommended new, nontraditional services, including recovery centers, youth clubhouses, expanded peer services, and open access centers, which provide immediate assessments and referrals to care. These services have since been established in numerous communities around the state and have helped people in need access care closer to where they live.

The press release added, “The governor has advanced legislative and regulatory reform to enable people to get treatment faster by eliminating many insurance restrictions, as well as legislation to reduce most opioid prescriptions from 30 days to seven days, and legislation to increase training and education for prescribers. Gov. Cuomo has also taken action to combat patient brokering and fraudulent addiction treatment services.”

The governor has also worked to increase training and availability of naloxone, resulting in more than 420,000 individuals in New York being trained and equipped with the opioid overdose reversal medication. Pharmacies around the state are now able to provide naloxone without a prescription.

New Yorkers struggling with an addiction, or whose loved ones are struggling, can find help and hope by calling the state's toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day-a-week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY (1-877-846-7369) or by texting HOPENY (Short Code 467369).

Available addiction treatment including crisis/detox, inpatient, community residence, or outpatient care can be found using the NYS OASAS treatment availability dashboard at FindAddictionTreatment.ny.gov or through the NYS OASAS website.

Those who have experienced insurance obstacles related to treatment, or need help filing an appeal for a denied claim, can contact the CHAMP helpline by phone at 888-614-5400 or email at [email protected].