Funding for substance use disorder (SUD) services can be challenging to find and manage. Westat recently produced a report for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on using braided funding to pay for SUD services, Examining the Use of Braided Funding for Substance Use Disorder Services. The report features 7 case studies in which braided funding is used to support SUD prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services. Westat staff contributing to this report are Joy Browne, MPH, John Easterday, PhD, Mary Gabay, MS, Shoma Ghose, PhD, Mustafa Karakus, PhD, and Finn Teach, MPPM.
Braided funding is a method of using one or more funding sources in a coordinated fashion to support a single individual or program. Using braided funding for SUD services can help optimize resources, improve patient outcomes, promote funding sustainability, and address service gaps. “This report can help states and program managers who are interested in the benefits of braided funding and want to learn more about funding sources and best practices,” notes Gabay, the Task Lead for the report. Read more about this report in the March 25, 2024, edition of the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly newsletter. For more behavioral health innovative financing information, check out other reports and presentations Westat completed at the Center for Financing Reform and Innovation (CFRI) website.
