Recovery Support Services

Contract	Recovery Support Services
Status	Completed
Bids due	2023-10-03
Scope of work	Gaston County requests proposals for (2) Peer Support Specialist positions to address the opioid epidemic in our community. Gaston County will receive more than $40 million over 18 years as part of the National Opioid Settlements that will bring critical support to help communities harmed by the opioid epidemic. Gaston County leaders, healthcare partners, treatment providers, stakeholders, those with lived experience, and others helped develop the County’s initial opioid settlement spending plan. As part of the spending plan, $300,000 will be invested in recovery support services, as defined by the North Carolina Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the State and local governments. The MOA directs how opioid funds are distributed and used across the state. The County is currently accepting submissions for proposals for (2) Peer Support Specialists to partner with families who are involved in the child welfare system due to parental substance use, specifically opioid use. Families involved with the child welfare system who are affected by opioid use disorder have complex needs that contribute to lower reunification rates and longer stays in out-of-home care for children. Peer Support Specialists will work with Child Welfare to address the needs of parents with substance use disorders. Peer Support Specialists understand substance use disorders and the recovery process because of their own experience and can assist with engaging the parent in services to improve treatment and child welfare outcomes. Peers can reduce negative attitudes and stigma among agencies and community partners toward parents with substance use disorders. Peer Support Specialist programs have demonstrated positive outcomes for participating families, such as improved treatment completion and recovery rates for the parents, less time children spent in out-of-home care, and improved family reunification rates. Community Peer Support Specialist (CPSS) qualifications will include having lived experience with substance use disorder, 1 year of uninterrupted sobriety to ensure they are stable in their own recovery before supporting others, and a Peer Support Specialist Certification or currently in the CPSS Certification process. Once hired, CPSS training will continue and will include an introduction to the child welfare system, motivational interviewing, substance use disorder treatment and recovery, effects of substance use disorders on parenting and on children, mental health and co-occurring disorders, medication-assisted treatment, and child development. The CPSS positions will receive clinical supervision from the selected service provider. Using a harm reduction model, Certified Peer Support Specialists will: Provide individualized harm reduction education and efforts to participants on overdose prevention, use of naloxone, Hepatitis C Virus, STI and HIV risk reduction and safer drug use. Arrange and accompany or transport parents to the first substance use disorder assessme
Category	Opioid Settlement Funding
Posted	2023-09-19
Bid posting	Open

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