By Oscar Morgan, Central East ATTC
Since joining the Addiction Technology Transfer
Center (ATTC) Network in 2001, the Central East ATTC has endeavored to provide training
and technical assistance (T/TA) that includes promoting gender, racial, sexual
orientation equity, and cultural considerations. In addition to influencing
people's experiences in the behavioral health system, these diverse identity
markers also contribute to understanding the value of each individual.
We provide T/TA on evidence-based and promising practices for prevention, treatment, and recovery support services to substance misuse professionals and others in HHS Region 3 (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia) according to identified regional needs. We use proven technology transfer strategies and practices to heighten awareness, disseminate information and promote the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices that address substance use/misuse in real-time.
Methods include:
- skills-based training;
- targeted and intensive technical assistance;
- development of handouts, guides, and toolkits; and
- both virtual and in-person training.
Our center serves as a resource
to collect, store, disseminate, and implement substance misuse disorders
evidenced-based practices that emphasize a public health approach. The bedrock
of our T/TA is the recognition that recovery is a process involving
person-centered care, which improves health
, and wellness resulting in
an individual’s ability to thrive in communities of their choice. Our T/TA approach also recognizes
the multi-faceted nature of substance misuse and the myriad of individual,
social and environmental factors that influence substance misuse.
Throughout our history, we
have prioritized collaboration as a crucial component of our mission to
strengthen the capability, skills, and knowledge of professionals in substance
use disorder treatment and recovery as well as the public health workforce as a
whole in HHS Region 3. We engage with researchers, subject matter experts, behavioral
health professionals and organizations, state and local behavioral health
authorities, universities, consumers, peers, families, veterans and members of
the military, community coalitions, social service groups, faith-based
organizations, ethnic-minority-specific organizations, LGBTQ+ serving
organizations, and other stakeholders.
A unique collaboration for our Center is with the Mid-AtlanticTraining Collaborative for Health and Human Services (MATCHHS), managed by the Office
of Regional Operations- Region III. MATCHHS is composed of the HHS-Region 3-funded
training and technical assistance centers with complementary missions. The Central
East ATTC role within this collaborative is to ensure that the needs of
people with substance misuse, substance use disorder or other behavioral health
disorders are addressed in every health and human service setting through
the implementation of evidence-based practices.
MATCHHS works to strengthen the capabilities of
the public health workforce to support delivering high-quality services
throughout our region. Collectively, we employ evidence-based and
promising practices and data-informed solutions that focus on the adverse
interactions between social conditions and diseases. This fosters a better understanding of
substance misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery.
Together, we work to reimagine, transform, and
sustain health and human service systems in an equitable manner so that the
needs of individuals with substance misuse and/or other behavioral health
disorders in our region are met. Under the integration of behavioral health
care into the public health system, we have trained over 8,100 providers.
About the author:
Oscar Morgan has more than 35 years of experience working with state behavioral health systems, organizations, and treatment practitioners. He has dedicated his work to strengthening their capacity, skills, and knowledge in providing integrated culturally and linguistically competent behavioral health prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for children, youth, and adults who have and/or at-risk of developing serious emotional disturbances/serious mental illnesses and co-occurring substance use disorders. He is the project director of the HHS Region 3, Mental Health Technology Transfer Center, Prevention Technology Transfer Center, and the executive director of The Danya Institute, Silver Spring, MD. Mr. Morgan is a former mental health commissioner for the state of Maryland. He has held senior-level management positions in a variety of state and national behavioral health organizations. He obtained his Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Colorado Boulder and Master’s Degree in Health Care Services Administration from George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
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