GPRA

SOR III Year 1 CSB/Agency-level GPRA Intake Reports Now Available in Dropbox

OMNI is pleased to share a customized GPRA Intake report for your CSB/Agency. Similar to the full statewide report, your agency report contains compiled GPRA data specific to your CSB/Agency from the SOR III Year 1 period (October 2022 through September 2023). This reflects Year 5 of the SOR Grant.

  • CSBs/Agencies are provided with an Intake report. This report contains demographic and baseline characteristics of your clientele cohort.

  • In the past, we were able to also provide an Outcomes report that included demographic and baseline characteristics and matched “outcomes” based on follow-up or discharge data. However, because of the shift to a new GPRA tool, we were not able to produce outcomes reports at the CSB/Agency level this year due to a low sample size and lack of comparability.

  • You can still review the outcomes section of the main report, which shows aggregate change/outcomes.

The intake reports only include aggregated data. To ensure confidentiality in reporting, there must be 10 or more responses for each GPRA question. As such, individual GPRA questions with less than 10 responses were not included in the report and are marked with a "N/A.”

You may wish to compare your report data with the full SOR Annual Report findings, linked here and also available in the Reports section of the Virginia SOR Support website.

Your report(s) can be found in your agency’s Dropbox folder. If you have any questions or feedback regarding the report or want to chat about the results, please don't hesitate to contact us at SORSupport@omni.org.

Statewide Interview Follow-Up Rate and TA Support

First, we’d like to thank all of you for your continuing diligent work on completing Intake and Follow-Up GPRAs during the course of the SOR II grant. We are nearing the end of the current fiscal year, and SOR II, and we thought we’d share some points about the status of GPRAs that we are noticing.

As you know, SAMHSA’s goal is to have an 80% Follow-up GPRA rate, and only interview Follow-Up GPRAs may be counted toward that rate. The overall all-grantee rate is currently 47.7%. Virginia had been exceeding that, but is now just slightly under that at 44.1%. So, we this would be a great time to pass some tips along to you to see if we can improve that over the months to come.

  • Your monthly Progress Report in Dropbox will show you what your interview follow-up GPRA completion rate is. Your weekly tracking sheet in Dropbox keeps you apprised of GPRA Follow-Up windows that are upcoming and open, so that you can plan for ample staff time to attempt interview follow-ups with those due for one. As you know, there should be multiple attempts to reach a client.

  • We want to remind agencies and CSBs that our team is available for TA to help support you in working to improve your own rates! We have resources a-plenty: tips sheets, client engagement materials, information on incentive use, and more available on our website. Here are some examples:

  • Plus, our TA team is always available for a quick check-in or a longer conversation to talk through any challenges and offer suggestions. Reach us at SORSupport@omni.org.

New Online Links for Intake and Follow-up/Discharge GPRA Starting 10/1/21 at 2pm ET

The new SOR Fiscal Year begins on Friday, October 1, 2021. Because of this, there will be brand new Qualtrics links for CSBs/Agencies to use to input Intake and Follow-up/Discharge GPRAs. The survey questions have not changed. However, we have modified a few behind-the-scenes parts of the survey to make it smoother for you to enter in your surveys.

Here are these new links. You can start using them on Friday, October 1st after 2pm ET:

• Online Intake GPRA

• Online Follow Up & Discharge GPRA

The links will also be updated on the SOR Website Resources>>GPRA Materials. After 2pm ET on October 1st, the old links you have will no longer be active.

If you typically create browser bookmarks to the surveys, be sure to update them effective tomorrow.

BARC-10 Score Feature of the GPRA Survey

We wanted to make sure you all know about the helpful BARC-10 score feature we have developed as part of GPRA survey.

The BARC-10 (Brief Assessment of Recovery Capital-10) is a validated questionnaire that assesses an individual’s recovery capital, or the characteristics and assets that a person develops on the recovery journey from a substance use disorder. These 10 questions (Part H of the GPRA) ask about 10 domains that contribute to an individual's recovery capital. The BARC-10 can be used to support an individual's recovery process through highlighting current areas of strength and where they would benefit from more resources/support. The BARC-10 Information Sheet, located under Supporting Materials on our Resources page (and linked here), has more examples of how to use this survey in a treatment and recovery setting.

Completing Section H of the GPRA survey automatically generates a BARC-10 Score, which ranges from 10-60. A score of 47 is associated with a higher chance of long-term remission. You can track this score over time to see change in a client's recovery capital.

When completing a GPRA in the online system, check the box highlighted in the screenshot to receive a client's BARC-10 score included in an email to you. You can also add another staff member's email if desired, in the next question.

As always, please reach out to SORSupport@omni.org if you have any questions or concerns.

GPRA Refresher Training Reminder!

This is a reminder that we are hosting an abbreviated GPRA Refresher Training on Wednesday, Jan 27, 2021 at 11am ET. Please register here. This is a shortened 1.5 hour training.

Come to this training if you are already familiar with the GPRA, but want a refresher on GPRA administration, the process of tracking clients for follow-up, and a re-cap of new elements for the SOR II grant period. If you have questions about whether this is a good fit for you, reach out to us at SORSupport@omni.org.

TA Tips to Supplement Your GPRA Tracking Sheet

Each week, OMNI uploads CSBs' GPRA Administration Tracking Sheets to your Dropbox Folder. OMNI has prepared some  tips, ideas, and suggestions to help support your use of the Tracking Sheet and make GPRA administration smooth and timely!

  • Reference the OMNI-produced Tracking Sheets in your Dropbox on a regular basis.

  • Review and contact our team with questions or errors, or if anything seems to be missing or off. Use the SOR Website TA Request form to let us know about the issues or errors as soon as you discover them.

    • If you need to email us a client ID, please email using encryption.

  • Consider setting up a supplemental internal tracking system that could help you stay on track in terms of completing GPRAs or set up other systems to remind you of the timeline or window and dates coming due. Some ideas:

    • Download and modify the OMNI tracking sheet. For instance, you could add new columns for client name, the date the GPRA is noted as complete in your system, and even a client discharge date.

  • Some CSBs use a separate spreadsheet to keep track of GPRA by type, completed each month, with a running total for the year. This is not required, just another tool to get a sense of your workflow.

  • Some have incorporated gift card tracking into the spreadsheet (i.e., date sent and amount) so it's in one place.

  • Use colors! You can highlight important dates or cases in the spreadsheet (e.g., GPRA's due for that month) in a different color to draw attention or as a reminder that something is due. You could choose a different color to highlight rows or cells for a discharged client to remind you to continue to contact them for the Discharge GPRA. Or, highlight when a case is complete.

  • Use calendar programs to schedule reminders. Be sure that the system used is secure if you intend to add client IDs or other personally identifying information to your calendar item.

  • Be creative! One CSB invented a Word document prepared before a client appointment. They include date, client initials and ID#, contact info, birthdate, admission date, type of referral, diagnostic codes, MAT type, treatment type, and gift card amount. This saves having to jump back and forth between their online client record and the GPRA. For the GPRA, they enter the administrative information from the sheet before starting the interview. After use, they shred.

 Our TA Team is available to brainstorm with you if you would like to explore any of these or other tracking options!

Update About Dropbox Set-up and Use by CSBs

Dropbox is an online or cloud-based file hosting service. Each CSB has a shared Dropbox folder with OMNI to securely and confidentially exchange files that contain personally-identifying information, such as client IDs or birthdates.

Please note that we no longer have links to your CSB's Dropbox folder from the website, as Dropbox does not allow this anymore. Instead, you will now see on that page (link here) instructions for accessing your Dropbox folder through your Dropbox account.

What is in my CSB Dropbox folder?

Reporting & Correcting Duplicate Follow-ups and Other GPRA Issues

The OMNI TA Team routinely monitors the GPRA data for several issues, including cases where surveys -- especially follow-ups -- may have been duplicated. When we identify issues, our team reaches out to the main Point of Contact at your CSB for clarification and decisions. To lighten all of our workloads (including yours!), we have put into place some tools and tips to help us all identify and correct issues sooner and more seamlessly.

  • First, the TA Request form on the SOR website has a new choice in the dropdown of reasons for contacting us: "Need to change something in a GPRA".

    • Please use the form and this choice right away if you know that you or someone at your CSB has mistakenly entered a GPRA duplicate or other information that we will need to adjust.

    • Or, use it as soon as you have discovered a correction or issue on the tracking sheet (e.g., incorrect interview date, incorrect birthday, etc.).

  • Another way to help prevent duplicate GPRA follow-ups from being submitted is to regularly review the weekly tracking sheet that we post to Dropbox. There you might spot incorrect dates as-entered, or even duplicated GPRAs themselves. When you spot these, please contact us as soon as possible to resolve the issue, using the TA Request form.

    • Note: The tracking sheets also identify the follow-up window which is intended to help prevent CSBs from completing follow-ups that are too early or too late. Remember, the "6-month" follow up window falls between month 5 and month 8 after the intake interview date. And a reminder: there is no longer a 3-month follow-up at all.

  • A number of CSBs have set up internal tracking systems in tandem with the tracking sheets. These systems may help eliminate duplication or completions outside the follow-up window from taking place. If you would like to explore some options that might support or improve your internal tracking and GPRA review process, please contact us at SORSupport@omni.org.

GPRA Full Training

We wanted to send a reminder to register for the Full GPRA Training if you are new to the SOR Grant and looking to learn more about the GPRA. This training will be held on November 10th from 12:00-3:00 pm and will cover the GPRA tool as well as TA resources available to you. Please register here for this training.

Please reach out to SORSupport@omni.org if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you next week!

Seeking Advice about CSB Incentive Distribution

Hello! We are looking to crowdsource some info from CSBs about how your agency has handled the financial aspects of the GPRA gift cards and contingency management. The TA team is helping to troubleshoot with a CSB who is currently not allowed by their finance department to purchase gift cards because they could be turned into cash, which is not allowed to be given to clients.

  1. Has your CSB resolved an issue where you were restricted from purchasing gift cards by finance? If so, what solutions do you suggest?

  2. Do you have recommendations on what stores to get gift cards from that don't sell alcohol and/or can't be turned into cash?

  3. Do you have any other recommendations for navigating CSB finance systems to allow GPRA incentive and contingency management distribution?

If your agency has faced similar challenges and figured out some solutions, we'd greatly appreciate a quick reply to SORSupport@omni.org with any advice you have to share.

We plan to share the compiled responses on this site since there may be some others in the same situation who could benefit from the information as well. Thank you!

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#200.112 Per 2 C.F.R. § 200.112-1113 The Federal awarding agency must establish conflict of interest policies for Federal awards. The non-Federal entity must disclose in writing any potential conflict of interest to the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity in accordance with applicable Federal awarding agency policy. Failure to adhere to these statues will result in immediate termination of funding.

Virginia’s State Opioid Response (SOR) grant is awarded at the discretion of DBHDS and SAMHSA. All recipients of SOR funding supports evidence-based prevention, treatment and recovery services to address opioid and stimulant misuse and use disorders, including for cocaine and methamphetamine. The SOR grant is not intended to be utilized as a long-term or permanent funding source. All SOR proposals must include a realistic plan for financial sustainability beyond the grant period.