Initiatives

Amistad, Inc., in partnership with the Co-Occurring Collaborative Serving Maine, NAMI Maine, and the Consumer Council System of Maine, developed and implemented a Health Care Reform Education program which reached out to, connected with, and educated peers and individuals in recovery throughout the state of Maine about the impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on mental health and substance abuse services. This project was funded by a small grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) through the end of 2012.

As part of an effort to build state coalitions and educate mental health and substance use stakeholders on health reform implementation, SAMHSA invited state mental health and substance use consumer and peer organizations, recovery community organizations, family member organizations, provider organizations, and other behavioral health stakeholder organizations to participate in CCSME’s Health Reform Learning Collaborative project.

CCSME participated in the coalition together with Maine Parent Federation, Inc., Amistad, Inc., Advocacy Initiative Network of Maine, NAMI Maine, Maine Mental Health Connections, Dirigo Counseling Clinic, LLC., Counseling Services, Inc, Preble Street, Youth MOVE Maine, and Milestone Foundation, Inc..

Resources developed and shared through eight coalitions nationwide were made available to other stakeholder groups and behavioral health coalitions across the country.

This grant from the U.S. Department of Justice was used to expand and enhance My Sister’s Keeper’s mentoring ministry and offer vocational services through Goodwill to female offenders at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland, Maine.

The two-year grant supported the Mentor ME program, serving 40 adult female offenders. The goals of the Mentor ME program are to reduce recidivism rates among female offenders and to increase public safety. By developing healthy relationships with offenders, mentors can provide hope, guidance and support.

CCSME collaborated with My Sister’s Keeper, Goodwill Industries of Northern New England, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine.

• Proceedings of the 2012 Second Chance Act Conference, May 22–24
• Bureau of Justice Assistance RSS feed

CCSME created an educational DVD on recovery from co-occurring disorders with funding from the Co-Occurring State Incentive Grant initiative. The grant was awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Substance Abuse (OSA).

CCSME provided statewide training, technical assistance, grant writing, development, and project oversight for this grant and served as a subcontractor to the Office of Substance Abuse in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The grant was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) with an annual budget of $265,000.

• Final Evaluation

CCSME developed strategies to support health for MaineCare members during this nine-month planning grant which was carried out in collaboration with the Maine Health Access Foundation.

• Improving the Health of Maine People

CCSME directed and wrote this one-year planning grant which expanded medical and family/peer recovery services at behavioral health centers. Maine Health Access Foundation funded the project; the budget was $47,534.

The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the Co-Occurring Collaborative Serving Maine, obtained a $48,301 planning grant for the development of a strategic plan to enhance collaboration across the criminal justice and behavioral health systems from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Project Connect promoted screening for criminal risk and behavioral health issues throughout the correctional system to guide, collaborate and inform treatment decisions and plans. In addition, the strategic plan developed targeted interventions for criminal risks, programming for mentoring, and peer-to-peer supports for the mental health and co-occurring substance abuse offender population in Cumberland County.

Early identification through screening yields more appropriate assessments and sharing of information. This can be used to match expanded evidence-based interventions to manage offenders with co-occurring mental health and/or co-occurring conditions appropriately by risk and need. This reduces recidivism, increases public safety, and uses resources more effectively. The collaborative process and the protocols developed can guide and inform other jurisdictions.

• Final Report
• Consumer Focus Group Report

The Maine Co-Occurring Disorders Court is a specialized court docket for adults with co-occurring disorders who are involved with the criminal justice system. This court provides judicial oversight, strict monitoring, rapid access to specialized treatment, and case management services in lieu of jail – or provides a reduced sentence for successful completion.

This type of specialty court preserves public safety by establishing careful monitoring of the person in the community, requiring compliance with the program to remain in the community, and breaking the cycle of repeat offending rooted in untreated mental illness and substance abuse.

CCSME was involved in the initial planning for the CODC, has provided training to the Court’s multidisciplinary team, and continues to be represented on the steering committee.

The Co-Occurring Collaborative of Southern Maine in collaboration with AdCare Maine, the Aroostook Mental Health Center, Day One, Anthem/Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine, the Maine Primary Care Association, Bureau of Medical Services, and the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services, established the Institute for Quality Behavioral Health Care to lead and disseminate evidence-based practices (EBPs).

The Institute priorities during the first two years included: (1) fostering the implementation of the EBP- Integrated Treatment for Co-Occurring Disorders through training, networking and creating increased support; (2) critiquing the model; (3) developing four centers of excellence across Maine to serve as models and consultant resources for integrated treatment regionally; (4) supporting and extending a work group of trainers, advocates, families, consumers, physical health-primary care and behavioral healthcare providers, funders and policymakers to remove barriers and create incentives for the implementation of EBP- integrated treatment for co-occurring disorders.

• Final Report and Evaluation

CCSME partnered in this jail diversion project and assisted with consulting, writing and grant development as a subcontractor to Cumberland County. The project was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Mental Health Services with an annual budget of $289,958.

CCSME conducted a two-year expansion project on motivational interviewing skills together with with Muskie Center for Learning with funds from the Maine Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services.

CCSME developed curricula, wrote and directed the grant, and implemented a statewide Train the Trainer program. The Mental Health Funding Collaborative funded this partnership with a three-year grant of $112,000.

CCSME contracted with Muskie Center for Learning to develop case managers’ motivational interviewing skills with funds from the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services.

CCSME consulted with the Office of Substance Abuse and participated in a grant to create a system which is welcoming to individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration funded CCSME’s work with a budget of $70,000.