This toolkit introduces the ASAM criteria, a framework for organizing addiction treatment systems and a foundation for improving the quality of care and addressing the gap between the efficacy of treatment in clinical trials and effectiveness in real world settings. By rooting substance use disorder (SUD) services in a common framework such as the ASAM criteria, states can ensure that organizations are "speaking the same language" when it comes to SUD prevention and treatment.  

This report published by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) gives an overview on the connection between opioid use disorder and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). The report also highlights state approaches to NAS data collection, analysis, and cross-agency data linkage, and how states leverage these data to inform better policy and improve health outcomes for both parents and infants. 

This is a report from the Brookings Institute (authors Pacula and Stein) that discusses three broad strategies states are taking, through a variety of policy levers, to enhance the quality of and access to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).

These strategies include: increasing insurance coverage and payment for OUD treatment services, expanding the existing treatment capacity for individuals with OUD, and developing more comprehensive and integrated treatment networks that link specialty substance use disorder treatment services with primary care and case management. 

This website provides information on grants focused on improving the criminal justice system, with many opioid-related funding opportunities. 

This report from the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) is informed by interviews of state officials from Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Texas to learn about their interagency strategies to support pregnant and parenting women with substance use disorders, particularly Medicaid-enrolled women. Key considerations for state policies and initiatives for pregnant and parenting women are identified and funding sources are listed at the end of the report. 

This is a report which outlines policy measures that can be introduced in order to ensure that patients can continue to benefit from tele health treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) after the pandemic. These policy recommendations include requiring private and public health insurers to reimburse OUD treatment providers for services given via tele health, as well as expanding locations where patients can receive OUD treatment via tele health. 

This is a report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) that explores the core components of a family-centered program framework that use medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). An overview of state variation in eligibility requirements and care coordination is provided along with a summary of four states’ individual approaches to treatment. 

This is a report from the CDC that identifies state strategies to improve outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder and infants prenatally exposed to substances, including opioids. It discusses strategies focused on access to and coordination of quality services, including approaches such as telemedicine that are useful in rural areas. In addition, there is discussion of strategies related to provider awareness and training among other topics.

This is a report from the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) that discusses how child-serving agencies are responding to the opioid crisis. It includes states’ strategies to support young children and families impacted by opioid use disorder (OUD), available state and federal funding sources for these initiatives, and key considerations for states working to improve services and outcomes for this vulnerable population. 

This is a report from the National Governors Association that describes strategies that governors are using to address the dual crises of the opioid epidemic and the coronavirus pandemic in the face of a restricted state budget.  

This is a toolkit from the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) that shares innovations, resources, and lessons learned from five state teams (Alabama, Illinois, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin) that are working to strengthen the capacity of their Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), such as community health centers, to deliver substance use disorder care. Program models are discussed that overcome the unique challenges of FQHCs. There is a special section on COVID-19.

This is a report from the Urban Institute that uses Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data to assess buprenorphine maintenance treatment in Medicaid from 2011-2018. Although buprenorphine prescriptions increased during the study period, there were large variations between states, with nonexpansion states having lower prescriptions.