Leadership Development
The field of addiction treatment is facing a transition as many current leaders in the profession are retiring. The Partners for Recovery (PFR) initiative is working to support leadership development activities, including the sponsorship of Regional Leadership Institutes, which, through concentrated 6-month programs, will focus on developing a cadre of emerging leaders.
Since 2006, PFR has supported several leadership institutes for behavioral health care professionals. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, preventive care has received heightened prominence. There is now an increased emphasis on substance use prevention and mental health promotion in the nation's health care delivery system. In light of the evolving U.S. healthcare environment, PFR—in collaboration with the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and the Graduate School USA—piloted SAMHSA's first School for Prevention Leadership (SPL) designed specifically for substance use prevention professionals. This pilot integrated general leadership skill-building exercises for professionals with specific knowledge relevant to the prevention field. The SPL assisted community- and State-level prevention professionals in developing a set of leadership skills and a knowledge base to effectively navigate the anticipated changes brought about by health care reform.
A summary report (21pp, PDF, 915KB) prepared by PFR provides a snapshot of the SPL and includes a synopsis of the School's objectives and structure, participants' feedback, and lessons learned.
PFR also developed State health care reform informational sheets (104pp, ZIP, 16MB) for the SPL, which were distributed during an SPL in-person training session. These sheets--one for each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico--serve as a quick and easy reference for:
- State data such as health spending or percentage of uninsured residents;
- The status of efforts to create a health insurance exchange;
- Health insurance enrollment services offered in the State; and
- Other enrollment opportunities offered by the State, such as Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or other miscellaneous assistance.
In 2012, PFR supported activities to strengthen leadership among recovery community organizations (RCOs). Leaders of RCOs not only must fulfill the traditional roles of a recovery community leader, but also must confront issues that require attention to participate in the current health care environment, such as obtaining certification and/or accreditation for the peer services they deliver, collecting quality measures and outcomes, utilizing technology, and collaborating with a variety of new entities.
On June 13 and 14, 2012, PFR held a Recovery Community Leadership Symposium in Providence, Rhode Island to create a forum in which leadership strengths and needs for RCOs could be addressed. The objectives of the symposium were 1) to explore the issues and challenges experienced by recovery community leaders in balancing self-care with their leadership roles and responsibilities, and 2) to develop strategies and tips for addressing these challenges. PFR prepared a summary report (22pp, PDF, 1.1MB) of the two-day meeting to contribute to a greater understanding of these issues so that strategies, tools and resources can be developed to support capacity-building among current and emerging RCO leaders.
Visit the Archive section of the PFR Resources page for documents about leadership and leadership development.
