Case Studies
Health & Housing Partnership Toolkit
Situation
Community Health Network of Washington (CHNW), an alliance of 21 Federally-Qualified Community Health Centers (CHCs), recognizes that health-related social needs, such as housing insecurity and homelessness, have a significant impact on the health and outcomes of the people it serves. CHNW aims to provide resources for Washington CHCs and housing partners to understand the regional health and housing ecosystem and to encourage development of housing solutions for its clients.
Intervention
A collaboration with the Department of Commerce Office of Apple Health (Medicaid) and Homes and the Corporation of Supportive Housing provided the basis for building a partnership toolkit specific to Washington state. The toolkit includes an overview of state systems, program details and funding opportunities, as well as several case studies of CHC’s housing partnerships in which keys to success are shared. It also includes key elements to consider for readiness to pursue projects and the critical success factors to consider in preparation, implementation and sustainability.
Result
CHNW provided the Washington-specific toolkit to its network of CHCs to support the development of health and housing partnerships throughout the state.
Services
System Assessment, Community Engagement, Stakeholder Interviews, Toolkit Development
For More Information
Please visit the CHNW website: https://www.chpw.org/bulletin-board/health-and-housing-toolkit/
Rising Strong West
Situation
Created by Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, Rising Strong is a family-centered drug treatment and housing program. By keeping families together, the program has successfully kept children out of the foster care system while strengthening recovery for child-welfare-involved parents. Legislators learned of the Spokane program and wanted to understand what it would take to open a parallel program in Western Washington, where the need is high.
Intervention
CCS/CHS engaged Principle Allies to create a Master Plan commissioned by the Washington State Department of Commerce. In addition to developing a blueprint for duplicating the program across the state, Principle Allies convened cross-agency stakeholder workgroups to understand a sustainable approach to funding.
Result
As a result of this planning process, the Department of Children, Youth and Families successfully requested that Governor Inslee include $13.4 million in capital funding in his 2023 budget request.
Services
Community Engagement, Environment Mapping, Financial Modeling, Master Planning
Note
This report was commissioned by the Department of Commerce through a contract with the Catholic Community Services pursuant to section 1031, chapter 296, Laws of 2022 as passed by the Washington State Legislature. Principle Allies served as the subcontractor selected by Catholic Community Services to produce the report. The Department of Commerce offers no general endorsement of the report or its contents.
Download the report directly, or view DOC legislative reports: Reports & Publications – Washington State Department of Commerce
Harborview Behavioral Health Institute Substance Use Disorder Organizational Development Assessment
Situation
The SUD treatment system lags beyond other sectors in healthcare in targeted quality improvement and training. SUD service providers report struggling with quality improvement and training initiatives due to barriers including challenges with recruitment and retention, an inability to capture reimbursement for services rendered due to credentialing and contracting, and infrastructure barriers. Providers report needing a wider range of training and technical assistance to be successful.
Intervention
The Behavioral Health Institute contracted with Principle Allies to develop SUD workforce training solutions with the goal of improving the quality of SUD treatment. The SUD Organizational Development Assessment allows tailored identification of barriers and gaps in an organization that need attention in order for the organization to gain the most benefit from ongoing training and quality improvement efforts.
Result
As a result of this process, the Behavioral Health Institute has a comprehensive organizational assessment tool to identify targeted training strategies, support the sustainable development of new SUD programs and identify quality improvement opportunities for existing SUD programs.
Services
Project Management, System Assessment, Community Engagement, Stakeholder Interviews, Pilot Design
For More Information
Please visit the BHI website: https://bhinstitute.uw.edu
Assessing Care System Readiness to Support Individuals with SUD
Situation
The Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) received a planning grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop a “Roadmap to Recovery” in order to design strategies to ensure an increased capacity for sustainable services across the continuum of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, recovery support services, harm reduction services, and outreach and engagement. This report outlines the need and includes information on system readiness to design and operationalize a Medicaid-based integrated, whole-person SUD and primary care Alternative Payment Model (APM) that ensures quality and integration across all services and settings. The use of the term “services” encompasses integrated social and medical services.
Intervention
The University of Washington (UW) Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute (ADAI) in collaboration with Principle Allies conducted a regional environmental scan and analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) to prepare for Washington’s implementation. Our analysis and findings address the barriers identified by insurers, providers, and stakeholders across the state.
Result
Continued collaboration and partnership with state agency and community partners to identify and revise barriers to ensure better access.
Services
Environmental scan, stakeholder engagement, interviews, project management, data collection, data analysis, report writing
For More Information
Please visit the ADAI website: https://adai.uw.edu