Region 7 ROTA-R Center

Landscape

Midwest Community-University Networking Center for Behavioral Health

    A SAMHSA-funded Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional Center (Region 7 ROTA-RC)

    Our SAMHSA-funded Community-University Networking Center was organized as a center of excellence for the systematic dissemination of best service and program practices in the domains of prevention, treatment, and recovery with a focus on opioids and stimulants. The Center serves rural areas in the Region 7 states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. It is housed at the Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute, in close collaboration with the University of Missouri’s Community Health Engagement and Outreach; together they form the hub of the partnership network.

    As in other regions, Region 7 is home to many independently-functioning agencies and organizations providing services and programs that address opioid and other substance misuse problems. These agencies and organizations serve many diverse rural populations. The challenge is that the need for services and programs among these populations far exceeds service and program availability, particularly concerning those that are evidence-based. Addressing this great unmet need warrants a well-coordinated, science-driven, capacity-building approach to the development and dissemination of training and technical assistance (T/TA) systems, one that takes advantage of existing T/TA infrastructures and resources.

    Central to our vision for addressing unmet service and program needs is a science-driven approach to community-university partnerships that applies a scientifically-grounded framework for systems-oriented service and program capacity building. This vision encompasses networked partnerships within Region 7 that link to similar partnerships in other SAMHSA regions.

    Guided by this vision, the Center will apply an adaptation of the proven PROSPER Delivery System and a consensus-based capacity–building framework to link university and other experts with state coordinators. These coordinators collaborate within local systems to deliver training and technical assistance where it is most needed. This approach leverages existing T/TA infrastructures and resources, fostering the development and dissemination of well-coordinated, science-driven T/TA.

    The National Behavioral Health Extension Network (NBH E-Net) Clearinghouse is a collection of resources for opioid and stimulant misuse as well as many other behavioral health issues and wellness. Experts at the Region 7 Center screen resources to identify best practices to reduce misuse of opioids. These best practices are added to the clearinghouse. The clearinghouse is a free tool for anyone to use to identify needed resources.

    Other Resources:

    https://pttcnetwork.org/
    https://attcnetwork.org/

    The Community-University Networking Center for Behavioral Health in Region 7 is funded through the Rural Opioid Technical Assistance Regional (ROTA-R) Center of Excellence Program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)