Staff Reports
Jackson County is among 10 Indiana counties targeted for a program to battle the opioid issue.
Health Resources and Services Administration recently awarded Affiliated Service Providers of Indiana Inc., or ASPIN, $2.4 million over four years to prepare paraprofessionals to work with families who are impacted by opioid use disorder and other substance use disorders in high-need areas.
The program will be the first Department of Labor-certified community health workers apprenticeship program in the state, according to a news release from ASPIN.
Douglas Huntsinger, executive director for drug prevention, treatment and enforcement and chairman of the Indiana Commission to Combat Drug Abuse, said Gov. Eric Holcomb is committed to helping Hoosier families affected by substance use disorder access quality care and resources.
“I’m thrilled that the expansion of ASPIN’s paraprofessional certificate program will help fill the gap of community health workers in rural and underserved areas across Indiana,” he said.
The ASPIN Opioid Impacted Family Support Program will expand the existing paraprofessional certificate program for community health workers by the addition of an Opioid Impacted Family Support certificate.
The workers will better understand the specific needs of providing services to children whose parents are impacted by opioid and substance use disorders and their family members who are in guardianship roles.
A total of 100 additional Level 1 slots will be added over the four-year award period to create new skills and competencies for a diverse workforce to work with families that are impacted by opioid and substance use disorders in counties that have been identified or as having high need and demand for services.
The other counties chosen for the program are Boone, Brown, Cass, Clark, Hancock, Marion, Randolph, Vermillion and Wayne.
The project will be accomplished with ASPIN and three community mental health centers — Centerstone, Four County and Hamilton Center — that serve the targeted population.
They will recruit community health workers in the 10 rural and underserved counties to enter the behavioral health/primary care workforce or continue to college seeking an advanced degree in human services to support families and children who are dealing with opioid and substance use disorders.
ASPIN President and Chief Executive Officer Kathy Cook said she is excited to be able to expand the nationally known community health workers training to include best practices on assisting opioid impacted families.
“With over 25 years of addiction treatment experience, we know that families are affected tremendously and can be the support needed to begin the path to recovery,” she said.
ASPIN is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit network that operates four major service lines: Behavioral health services, professional training and workforce development, grants management and health improvement.
The mission is to provide innovative educational programs, resource management, program development and network management in collaboration with all health care entities to address health disparities and whole health management.