OMNI Kudos to Harrisonburg-Rockingham for Intake GPRA Numbers

Throughout 2022, we have been sharing some shout-outs about CSBs or Agencies that are doing well with their intakes, follow-ups, engaging and supporting clients, and/or those that demonstrate a "spirit of inquiry" when engaging with our TA Team on GPRA administration issues.

This month, we’d like to highlight Harrisonburg-Rockingham CSB. Over the past couple of months, they have been able to steadily increase their number of GPRA intakes completed compared to prior timepoints. We appreciate their extra effort to bring clients into SOR services and the evaluation. May the trend continue!

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:

  • Engagement Info Sheet for Clients

  • Follow-Up Reminder Scripts

  • GPRA Admin Tips & Best Practices

  • Follow-Up & Discharge One Pager

• 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.

SOR II Year 2 Quarter 2 SOR Progress Report

We are excited to share the new SOR II quarterly progress report for Quarter 2 (January to March 2022). This report focuses on SOR prevention, treatment, and recovery evaluation activities for the state in Quarter 2 and includes data from quarterly surveys, GPRAs, and PBPS. You can find the report linked here or on the Reports page of the SOR Support website.

We hope this report helps highlight Virginia's work across the grant. Please let us know if you have any questions or feedback on this report.

BARC-10 Domain Name Updates

We wanted to let you know of a recent change to the BARC-10 information sheet and BARC-10 results email that you can opt to receive when a GPRA is completed. The domain names for the BARC-10 (Brief Assessment of Recovery Capital-10) have been updated to more accurately reflect what is being asked in each question. For example, “Global Psychological Health” has become “Life Satisfaction.” You can look through the information sheet to see these updated domain names. Please reach out to our team if you have any questions.

Follow-up and Discharge GPRAs – What is the difference and when are each needed?

We’ve had some recent questions about this, so we wanted to share this brief post to remind you of the procedure for completing Follow-up GPRAs and Discharge GPRAs.

Remember that even though a client may be discharged from SOR services, and you may have completed a Discharge GPRA reflecting that, you still need to attempt a Follow-Up GPRA interview approximately 6 months after intake. SAMSHA wants to have two solid, anchored timepoints of data for clients: at intake and at 6 months via an Interview Follow-up, in order to evaluate change from one timepoint to the other for all clients receiving SOR-funded services. Timing for Discharge GPRAs varies, and occurs when a client is no longer receiving services at your agency. Discharge GPRAs are not considered actual Follow-up GPRAs.

Your Weekly Tracking Sheets in Dropbox define the open windows of opportunity for doing follow-ups and the running status of GPRA completion for each client. The Follow-up & Discharge TA sheet is very helpful for this topic. Please review and let our team know if you have questions!

OMNI Kudos to CARITAS!

In 2022, we have been sharing some shout-outs about CSBs or Agencies that are doing well with their intakes, follow-ups, engaging and supporting clients, and/or those that demonstrate a "spirit of inquiry" when engaging with our TA Team on GPRA administration issues.

This month, we’d like to highlight The Healing Place at CARITAS. CARITAS joined the SOR Evaluation in the summer of 2021. This organization provides residential recovery services to those experiencing homelessness in the Richmond metro area.

Since getting the GPRA intake survey fully embedded in their overall intake process for clients, they have had consistently high numbers completed each month. They have also demonstrated a spirit of inquiry and diligence in getting their follow-up GPRA process up and running – they review their tracking sheet regularly and connect with the OMNI TA Team with questions and concerns. We appreciate and applaud their ability to jump head first into the evaluation and sustain those intake numbers! Great work, CARITAS!

New Resource: Getting Started with GPRA Administration

We are excited to share a new one-pager that can be used by agencies or new staff members that are getting started with administering the GPRA. This resource provides an introduction to SAMHSA’s SOR grant, as well as information and resources to give to staff members completing the GPRA. You can use the one-pager to determine when to conduct a GPRA and start planning for administration at your agency.

We hope this will be a helpful resource. As always, please reach out to SORSupport@omni.org with any questions or concerns.

TA Tips to Supplement Your GPRA Tracking Sheet

Each week, OMNI uploads agencies' 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!

 Tips:

• Reference the OMNI-produced Tracking Sheets in your Dropbox on a regular basis. Over the years, we have improved this tool with more columns and information to help you better keep track of your GPRA windows and due dates. Check them out! 

• Review and contact our team with questions or errors, or if anything seems to be missing or off (e.g., an incorrect Client ID or a duplicated GPRA). 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.

• Remember that for every Intake GPRA, there should be a 6-month Follow-Up GPRA completed (hopefully an interview GPRA, but if client is not reachable, an administrative Follow-up GPRA). Even if a client is discharged from services before the 6-month mark, and you have completed a Discharge GPRA, you should still use the Follow-up Window open/close information to plan for and complete the 6-month Follow Up GPRA. Your tracking sheet displays all the timepoints you need to know about.

• 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 suggestions:

  • 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 agencies 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 agencies have incorporated gift card tracking into the tracking sheet (e.g., 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 that are due) 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 follow-up reminders for you and your team. 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 agency 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.

We created a resource that contains some of these ideas, too: GPRA Administration Tips and Best Practices

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