Adolescent Addiction Access Program

This project provides an overview of the Adolescent Addiction Access (AAA) program, which helps connect adolescents with substance abuse disorders and their families to timely clinical services (evaluation, treatment, referrals). Specialized substance use disorders treatment programs can be difficult to access in Indiana and nationally, especially for adolescents in the transitional age period between pediatric and adult services. To address this gap, the AAA program offers provider-to-provider consultations and direct primary care services by a multidisciplinary team of clinical specialists. AAA services are accessed through a call line that can be utilized on weekdays. This project gives an overview of AAA’s development, launch, and impact in its first year of implementation based on the number of calls, counties that utilize the services, outreach efforts, most common diagnoses, and most common reasons that families/teens call. Case examples will illustrate how the program can improve access to care for youth with substance use disorders. The AAA program is implemented through the IU School of Medicine Adolescent Behavioral Research Program, which specializes in studying and improving access to behavioral health services for adolescents and their families.