Fellow Spotlight: Ally Dir, PhD, HSPP

For Ally Dir, PhD, HSPP, improving substance use disorder treatment means looking beyond whether effective services exist and asking whether people can actually access them.

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Peer Support Specialist Credentialing in States With Medicaid Coverage of Peer Support Services for Substance Use Disorder

Objective: To examine state variation in credentialing requirements for peer support specialists (PSSs) providing Medicaid-covered substance use disorder services. Methods: A systematic search identified PSS credentialing requirements in 40 states. Requirements were analyzed across 10 credentialing components, including education, training, work experience, examinations, and certification maintenance. Results: Credentialing requirements varied widely across states. Most required…

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Adapting substance use treatment for black adolescents in the US legal system: protocol for a mixed-method, exploratory, feasibility and acceptability study using the eight-step ADAPT-ITT framework

The Cultural Adaptation of a Substance Use Treatment (CAST) Project is a community-led mixed-methods study focused on developing a culturally responsive substance use intervention for Black youth impacted by the legal system. The study examines how racial discrimination influences substance use and mental health outcomes while centering the perspectives of youth, parents, and community stakeholders.…

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Daniel Burkart

Daniel Burkart is a communications specialist at RASC, where he develops strategic communications that advance the field of implementation science and expand the reach of evidence-based practices. He holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Arizona and brings more than a decade of experience in marketing, communications, brand development and digital strategy. Prior…

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Promoting Addiction Care Transitions Across Healthcare Settings

Noa Krawczyk, PhD | April 28, 2026: Transitions from hospital-based care to community treatment represent a key implementation challenge in the continuum of care for opioid use disorder (OUD). While substantial progress has been made in implementing hospital-based initiation of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), less attention has focused on the strategies that ensure…

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Evidence-Based Preventive Interventions – Are they Inclusive of Diverse Populations and Do they Build a More Equitable Future for ALL Youth, Families and Communities?

Pamela Buckley, PhD, Velma McBride Murry, PhD | April 7, 2026: Historically, marginalized groups face persistent health and social inequities, underscoring the need for preventive interventions that are both effective and inclusive. This presentation synthesizes findings from two systematic reviews while situating them within a broader effort to modernize how prevention science defines, generates, and…

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