The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announced that Delaware is one of five states selected to partner with the national nonprofit Shatterproof in the development of a new pilot rating system designed to measure quality in addiction treatment programs.
Delaware was selected due to the work the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health has undertaken as part of the Substance Use Treatment and Recovery Transformation Initiative (START), which was launched in October 2018.
Under the START Initiative, DSAMH is currently tracking quality and clinical measures for addiction treatment across the state and then sharing that information with providers to help them improve their services. The partnership with Shatterproof, which was formed in 2012 to end the devastation addiction causes families, will enhance these efforts by providing a common set of measures for providers to benchmark themselves against, not just in Delaware but across the United States, a release stated.
The Shatterproof Rating System will also allow those seeking treatment for themselves or a loved one to see overall ratings via a free, public website increasing the transparency of the entire system.
“We are committed to doing everything we can to improve the quality of care for those suffering from addiction,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, who chairs the Behavioral Health Consortium. “This partnership with Shatterproof is another leap forward for the START Initiative and will help ensure that Delawareans have a quality treatment system that works for them when they need it most.”
“The START Initiative was one of the first steps forward in embracing the recommendations of the Johns Hopkins report to strengthen the treatment system in our state,” said DHSS Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker, a board-certified family physician. “Being selected by Shatterproof to participate in this pilot program will further the goal of the START Initiative to offer care that is high-quality, comprehensive, coordinated, evidence-based, and person-centered.”
The Shatterproof Rating System will be piloted in select states over two years. The three other participating states that have been announced are Louisiana, Massachusetts and New York.
Upon successful completion of the two-year pilot, the system will continue in the pilot states and a nationwide rollout will eventually establish the Shatterproof Rating System as the national standard for measuring the quality of behavioral health treatment.
