We at The Danya Institute believe in practicing what we preach, in being accepting of change and being able to successfully manage the change process. To this end, I must also share a significant internal change here at the Institute. I’ve made the decision to leave my Danya Institute family to accept the position of Deputy Director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Health’s, Addiction Prevention & Recovery Administration (APRA), which will take effect on January 14th, 2013.
Because we’ve fostered the internal culture that we have, my leaving will not impact the quality of the work coming out of the Institute. The skilled staff of the Danya Institute will continue to produce the quality work that you have become accustomed to, and it will only get better.
A special thank you to the Institute stakeholders, partners, the Board of Directors, our volunteers, the staff, and most importantly the individuals in recovery whom we serve! It has been an honor serving my community in this way, and I look forward to the possibilities ahead!
The past two years here at the Institute have focused on change. Of course, we are in the business of developing local experts within provider communities to manage the change process and successfully implementing and maintaining new clinical innovations. On the other hand, at the Institute we also utilize our change model and engage in this work internally every day. This is a dynamic process that we live with daily, and so understand the implications within the provider communities that we train and serve.
A few highlights from 2011 – 2012 include:
- Completed a 5 session Clinical Supervision Webinar Coaching series as a resource to practicing and those interested Clinical Supervisors in the behavioral health field: CLICK HERE
- Revised several of our hard copy products, and also made many of them available electronically via Apple’s iBook store: CLICK HERE
- Launched a monthly Conversations piece that highlights the personal perspectives of those in our community on various behavioral health issues: CLICK HERE
- Converted our hard copy Newsletter to an E-Newsletter: CLICK HERE
- Created a video library of key training to provide a post training reference for our attendees or other interested parties: CLICK HERE
- Made a conscious effort to target our community more directly by engaging new partners, re-engaging old ones, partnering with volunteers who care about the work that we do, and using social media to make this engagement more personal
- Piloted collaborative program models that resulted in providers being able to improve their business and clinical practices: CLICK HERE
- Won the SAMHSA/CSAT re-award for $3.45M over 5 years, in support of the work of the Institute’s Central East Addiction Technology Transfer Center (Region 3 ATTC)
There is much more that could be discussed, but I think you get the picture. The Institute has a committed team and involved Board at the ready, to not only continue the work of the past two years, but also improve the quality of products and services that we provide.
In 2013, there are several new initiatives, products, and services that you can expect to see:
- The release of the Institute’s Change Toolkit, developed based on feedback from providers involved in innovative pilot projects to create a cadre of local experts, or Community Change Specialists. This toolkit will be complemented by an interactive page on our website with additional tools and resources
- The release of a trainer’s guide based our updated Outreach Competencies booklet, to reflect the perspective of a recovery oriented approach to outreach
- Additional opportunities for providers to participate in pilot projects that aim to improve the selection, implementation, and sustainability of clinical innovations within this new integrated health care system
These are exciting times ahead, and the Institute staff and its partners look forward to sharing them with you.
Sincerely,