Luzerne County Drug and Alcohol administrator welcomes Tuesday visit by top state official

Luzerne County Drug and Alcohol Administrator Ryan Hogan appreciated Tuesday’s opportunity to host Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Dr. Latika Davis-Jones in Wilkes-Barre.

“It was great having the secretary visit Luzerne County to shine a light on all the good services here and celebrate the people performing the work,” Hogan said. “It was a good day overall.”

The visit was part of the state agency’s ongoing stakeholder engagement tour to gather feedback on the opioid and overdose crises that will ultimately assist in planned regulatory reform, officials said.

Davis-Jones opened with a roundtable discussion at King’s College that included representatives of treatment providers, recovery support centers and the county government’s drug and alcohol department and human service division.

The state department, known as DDAP, is looking at a comprehensive reform package aiming to reduce some administrative barriers, she said.

“That’s the goal. It’s not an easy feat,” Davis-Jones told the group.

While reform will take time, she said her department is trying to tackle some “low-hanging fruit” in the interim that will address Gov. Josh Shapiro’s directive to streamline and improve accessibility to mental health and addiction recovery services across the state.

Davis-Jones invited the group to share views on state regulations, technology and modernization and health equity.

Hogan and another provider expressed concerns about a regulatory change suggested by some advocacy groups to increase caseloads from 35 to 50 per counselor.

He commended the state on a new regulation that relaxed overly strict confidentiality requirements, which allows providers and drug and alcohol programs to communicate more freely about clients. Hogan said the prior restrictions exceeded federal ones and acted as a barrier for agencies attempting to obtain services for those in need.

Hogan told Davis-Jones he fully supports the use of medical assistance for prison inmates to help with medication-assisted treatment and other programs that will help keep those incarcerated sober upon release.

A waiver is being proposed at the state level that would allow medical assistance to fund such programs treating opioid use disorder — a move that would alleviate pressure on the county prison and/or drug and alcohol department budgets, Hogan said.

Davis-Jones said there is support for this change, but she does not know where it will land.

Locally, county council unanimously agreed to use $376,876 in opioid settlement proceeds to fund this year’s expense providing a medication-assisted treatment program at the county prison. The county is due to receive approximately $25 million over 18 years from the state’s litigation settlement against opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors.

Hogan said he expects the opioid settlement funding will help address many needs, but it is only a temporary solution.

His agency has been working on a comprehensive prevention needs assessment for schools and community-based entities, but the demand for programs exceeds available resources, he said.

The county has 13 school districts, each with multiple schools, and they are all requesting evidence-based prevention programs, he said.

“We can’t do that with the shoestring budget we have right now,” Hogan said.

Davis-Jones recognized the challenge and said discussions are planned at the state and federal level about options for additional funding for treatment providers and county agencies.

A state release said Tuesday’s visit was the seventh tour stop to learn about what is and isn’t working and how the state can better help.

After Tuesday’s roundtable, Davis-Jones visited the Children’s Service Center’s Robinson Counseling Center and Conyngham Health Center in Wilkes-Barre, which provide a “one-stop shop” model to treat substance use disorder and mental and physical health. She also participated in a recovery-centered activity at the New Roots Recovery Center, also in Wilkes-Barre.