Illinois Opioid Remediation Advisory Board
Workforce Development & Infrastructure Working Group Meeting
September 9, 2024
Virtual Meeting Held Via Zoom
Meeting Minutes
Workforce Development and Infrastructure Working Group Members
Blanca Campos, Community Behavioral Healthcare Association (Chair)
Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, Wolf Pack; Live4Lali
Angel Cruz, Peoria County Sheriff's Office
Dr. Trenton Fedrick, Habilitative Systems, Inc. Kristin Hamblock, Rosecrance Angie Hampton, Egyptian Health Department
John Horsely, Kenneth Young Center
Jen Nagel-Fischer, The Porchlight Collective, SAP Lora Passetti, Chestnut Health Systems Teressa Perdieu, CEAD Council (DBA Hour House)
Chris Schaffner, JOLT Harm Reduction Mila Tsagalis, DuPage County Health Department
Welcome and Roll Call
Blanca Campos, Chair, welcomed the group and started the meeting. Sue Pickett, PhD of Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP), facilitator, took roll call. All members were present except for Dr. Trenton Fedrick. Quorum was established.
Review and Approval of Working Group Meeting Minutes from July 8, 2024
Ms. Campos called for a motion to approve the July 8, 2024 meeting minutes. Lora Passetti made a motion to approve the minutes. John Horsley seconded the motion. All members present voted in favor of approving the minutes. The motion passed.
2025 Meeting Schedule
- Mr. Jim Wilkerson, interim Statewide Opioid Settlement Administrator (SOSA) at Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Substance Use Prevention & Recovery (SUPR), reviewed training requirements for working group members. More information about training requirements will be sent to working group members via email.
- In-person meeting spaces in Springfield and Chicago will be available for all IORAB meetings and working group meetings. Meetings will continue to be held virtually and no one is required to attend meetings in person. More information about meeting locations will be included on future meeting agendas and on the SUPR website.
- Mr. Wilkerson reviewed the proposed 2025 dates for meetings for the Workforce Development & Infrastructure working group. Meetings will move from bi-monthly to quarterly. The 2025 meetings will be held in January, April, June, and October 2-3 weeks prior to the IORAB meetings to allow the group time to develop recommendations. Working group members agreed to this new schedule (January 13, April 7, June 30 and October 6).
Priority Recommendations for the IORAB
Ms. Campos shared that the Chairs reviewed the recommendations that will be presented at the October IORAB meeting. The recommendations are reviewed by all working groups prior to the IORAB meeting to ensure transparency and provide opportunity for discussion.
Youth & Family Recommendation
Dr. Pickett reviewed the Youth & Family recommendation which was developed by the Medical & Research Working Group. Mr. Wilkerson discussed that this working group will meet next week; they may make minor changes to the recommendation. This recommendation is for a total of $3 million over 3 years ($1 million per year).
- A member suggested that "harm reduction education programs for teens" be changed to "harm reduction education and programs for parents, educators, and other people who interact with youth" to emphasize the importance of inclusion of the family.
- A member asked how this recommendation does not supplant the BASE prevention program funding. Mr. Wilkerson discussed that there may be multiple proposals for services for the same population. If all are funded SUPR will make minor changes to prevent duplication of services. The BASE program primarily funds prevention programming, while the Youth & Family recommendation focuses on treatment.
- Dr. Donnell Barnett discussed the need to clarify how the recommendation addresses health disparities and social determinants of health. If addressing disparities within youth and families is a focus of the recommendation, then that should be made clear. If addressing disparities is a "carve out" then that should be clarified.
- A member discussed that providing treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) in schools is a challenge due to lack of funding and the need for parental consent for youth treatment. Dr. Pickett clarified that the recommendation does not include school-based services.
- A member discussed the importance of the harm reduction community and people with lived experience creating and delivering the harm reduction content described.
- A working group member suggested that "youth" be changed to "youth and families" throughout the recommendation.
- These suggested edits will be shared with the Medical & Research Working Group. The working group did not vote to support the recommendation.
Tribal Recommendation
Mr. Wilkerson explained that this recommendation was developed by SUPR to fund treatment and recovery services for tribal communities. SUPR hopes to support these communities by developing services with input and leadership from community members. This recommendation is for a total of $3 million over 3 years or $1 million per year.
- A member asked who was eligible to apply for this funding. Mr. Wilkerson noted that tribes are eligible to apply; there are multiple tribes within the state.
- Ms. Campos asked for a motion to support the tribal recommendation. Teressa Perdieu made a motion. Lora Passetti seconded the motion. All members voted to support the recommendation. The motion carried.
Local Health Department Infrastructure Recommendation
Mr. Wilkerson explained that this recommendation is for funding for local health departments to employ epidemiologists or similar staff to do data collection and research at a local level. This research will provide an understanding of the impact of opioid services to allow rapid response and quality improvement. The request is for $6 million per year for 3 years. SUPR plans to discuss the amount of this request with IDPH.
- A member asked if the recommendation could include advanced drug checking through spectrometry. Mr. Wilkerson explained that a request for spectrometry will need to be reviewed by IDPH.
- A member stated that they do not support population surveillance that coordinates with law enforcement as they do not want the data used by law enforcement to target people who use drugs.
- A member noted that details related to implementation should be determined by local jurisdictions as they have the best knowledge of their needs.
- A member recommended that data collected should be available to the public. Mr. Wilkerson noted that there is a state level opioid data dashboard maintained by IDPH: Opioid Data Dashboard.
- The suggestions discussed will be sent to IDPH for consideration. The working group determined that they would not vote on this recommendation.
Contingency Management Recommendation
Mr. Wilkerson explained that the Contingency Management (CM) recommendation was voted on and passed at the April IORAB meeting; however, funding was not determined. The proposed funding amount of $1.5 million over 3 years, or $500,000 per year, will be voted on at the next IORAB meeting. There was no discussion related to this funding amount.
Training Resources & Strategies Recommendation
The working group discussed the recommendation that they had developed to provide training resources and strategies for people building careers in behavioral health. The text of the recommendation has been sent to all members and revisions were received.
- The group changed the wording "stipends and scholarships" to "funding." The current recommendation reads:
Develop training resources and strategies to support people as they build careers in behavioral health (mental health and substance use treatment). This includes students enrolled in high school, undergraduate college, community college, and behavioral health graduate school (healthcare, human services and public health professional programs). Possible resources include training guides, videos, and processes to train and certify people providing career building services to ensure they deliver appropriate content, including field experiences. Career building efforts should include peers, PLE, PWUD, family members and allies of PLE/PWUD and compensate them equitably. Efforts should prioritize PLE and PWUD, and efforts to reach these individuals might include, but not be limited to, presentation of career information in community engagement activities, in recovery groups, and in other SUD treatment or harm reduction settings. Resources include stipends and scholarships to reimburse behavioral health service providers to educate and recruit students in the settings described above.
- The recommendation will be finalized at the November meeting.
Public Participation
A member of the public thanked the group for considering the local health departments recommendation.
Adjourn
Ms. Campos thanked participants and adjourned the meeting. The next meeting of the IORAB Workforce Development & Infrastructure working group will be on November 18, 2024, from 11 AM - 12 PM.
