ResetLife: Intensive Outpatient AOD Treatment for Youth

⁠⁠⁠The South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network (SEMPHN) is pleased to invite Responses to deliver the ResetLife Intensive Outpatient AOD Treatment Service for Youth (the ‘Service’) to young people aged 11 to 22 within the SEMPHN catchment. The Service will be tailored to run groups for clients aged 11 to 16 and 17 to 22. 

SEMPHN is seeking to engage a provider to deliver the Service in the Southeastern Melbourne Catchment. The provider will be required to have a purpose-built, youth-friendly facility which is easily accessible by public transport within the catchment.

The complexity of services required by youth across various health and social disciplines demands effective and efficient collaboration and coordination of care.

Harms from drug use impacts on Australian communities, families and individuals. This includes health harms such as injury, lung and other cancers; cardiovascular disease; liver cirrhosis; mental health problems; road trauma; social harms including violence, domestic and family violence, child protection issues and other crime. It also includes economic harms from health care and law enforcement costs, decreased productivity, associated criminal activity, reinforcement of marginalisation and disadvantage, harmful drug use is also associated with social and health determinants such as discrimination, unemployment, homelessness, poverty and family breakdown.

The National Drug Strategy (NDS) 2017-2026 builds on the previous strategy and pillars of harm minimisation (NDS 2017-2025):
* Demand reduction to prevent the uptake and/or delay the onset of use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; reduce the misuse of alcohol and the use of tobacco and other drugs in the community; and support people to recover from dependence and reintegrate with the community
* Supply reduction to prevent, stop or disrupt or otherwise reduce the production and supply of illegal drugs; and control, manage and/or regulate the availability of legal drugs, and
* Harm reduction to reduce the adverse health, social and economic consequences of the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

There is a focus on the outcomes of the National Ice Taskforce report as well as the Australian Government’s response that sets out to reduce the demand for ice and reduce the harm it causes, while continuing efforts to disrupt supply. 

Substance misuse and dependence is the most common and potentially harmful of all complex issues faced by young people and their families in Victoria. There is strong evidence that an investment in alcohol and drug prevention, early intervention and treatment at the local level can modify the risks to young people and protect the health and wellbeing of families and communities. There is also strong evidence that tailoring services to meet individual needs or subgroup characteristics not only positively influences treatment outcomes but also increases the likelihood of treatment involvement and retention.

Findings from the 2017 Victorian Youth Needs Census suggests the need for early intervention for young people up to age 17 who have not yet progressed from cannabis and alcohol to more problematic substances such as Methamphetamine/Ice.

The majority of youth AOD services in Victoria are at full capacity. As of 01 August 2018, 135 young people were on a wait list for 31 treatment beds. Two-year wait-list data indicates there were 273 young people assessed as suitable for residential rehab at Birribi. Of these, twenty-four percent (24%) or 66 clients were aged 15 to 17. The average wait time to access a treatment bed was 76 days and only 35% of clients on the wait list entered treatment.

To be effective, AOD youth treatment programs must be able to engage and retain young people and their families. In addition, the treatment must consider the developmental stage as well as the complex social environment of the young person. The ResetLife youth (Matrix) model incorporates all of these elements and may provide a comprehensive treatment option as an alternative to residential rehabilitation.