Immediate Workforce Lift for the AOD sector

An immediate workforce lift is being implemented to support the expansion of alcohol and other drug services announced through the 2017-18 State Budget and the Drug Rehabilitation Plan.
This plan represents a total investment of $2.5 million over 12 months, and forms the immediate priorities of the Alcohol and other Drugs (AOD) Workforce Strategy.

Attraction campaign

• The department is developing a values-based attraction campaign to encourage people to consider a career in the AOD sector. The campaign will be particularly focused on addressing the barrier that stigma poses for attracting workers into the AOD sector.
• The Shannon’s Company has been appointed to undertake the project and is currently undertaking consultation throughout the sector via face-to-face interviews and an online survey prior to the development of the campaign material.
• The campaign will be launched in June 2018.

Lived experience workforce

• The Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC) is developing a framework for the AOD peer workforce to ensure that expansion of the peer workforce is evidence-based, consistent, effective and sustainable.
• An AOD peer workforce community of practice has been established, bringing together peer workers and agencies to collaboratively develop the framework.
• SHARC is liaising with the AOD consortium lead agencies to establish peer workers across the Victorian AOD treatment sector, particularly aimed at bridging the gap between intake and admission to treatment, as well as expanding options for continuing care and recovery coordination post treatment.
• For further information contact Crystal Clancy: cclancy@sharc.org.au

Accredited training

• Specialist AOD training providers, including Turning Point, Odyssey House and Uniting Care ReGen, have been allocated new funding to offer the Certificate IV and Diploma in Alcohol and other Drugs (for workers without tertiary qualifications) and the four units of competency known as the AOD Skill Set (for workers with tertiary qualifications but not in AOD), so that new and existing workers can access free, high quality, accredited training and meet the Minimum Qualification Standard for working in the AOD sector.
• Information will soon be available on VAADA’s online training hub, but in the meantime agencies can approach the training providers directly for more information.

Forensic AOD workforce

• A number of workforce initiatives are being established to support the implementation of the new Forensic AOD Service Delivery Model.
• To support practice change and the shift towards more intensive and criminogenic models of treatment a suite of training and education programs will be provided.
• In June 2018, Taskforce will commence delivering joint training opportunities between AOD and Community Correctional Services to enhance collaborative practice.
• More detail regarding the range of forensic training that will be available this year will be provided by VAADA (stay tuned)

Addiction medicine capability

• Victoria currently has limited numbers of addiction medicine specialists in dedicated addiction medicine roles, and few trainees. The department is continuing to work with Turning Point to map and strengthen addiction medicine specialist capacity in the Victorian public sector. To date, the project has collected a range of data on the current size and distribution of addiction specialists, including addiction psychiatrists, and documented key challenges to growing this workforce.
• An Addiction Medicine advisory group is being set up to oversee this work.
• For further information contact Keri Alexander: Keri.Alexander@easternhealth.org.au

Gathering recovery stories

• Turning Point and the Self Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC) have been supported to develop a series of short recovery-oriented vignettes from the perspectives of individuals, families and other support networks, and health workers who have either experienced and recovered from ice addiction or supported someone through their addiction.
• The recorded stories will assist in getting across the message that it is possible to overcome an addiction to crystal methamphetamine and other drug use and provide hope for drug users, their families and friends and AOD workers.
• The filmed vignettes will be available to the ice training providers, and the online module will be available on the Ice: Training for the Frontline Workforce website in May 2018: https://nceta.androgogic.com.au/.