SAMHSA's Recruitment and Retention Toolkit

SAMHSA has developed a Recruitment and Retention Toolkit for that provides many resources for substance abuse and addictions treatment programs.

What is in the Toolkit

In pilot tests reported at the 2011 NIATx/SAAS convention in Boston, programs reported it was helpful to use a single job opening as the focus of change efforts aimed at improving recruiting and retention practices; changes were easy to spread or adapt once developed.

Lessons to learn from the Toolkit

  • Organizations have a wide variety of Human Resources (HR) staffing and practices
  • HR must be handled by at least one full-time person in most organizations; making changes to recruitment and retention requires a team effort and leadership support
  • Focus not only on credentialing, but also on retention
  • Ensure employees understand all the services provided by the organization so they can refer clients and spread the word about job openings
  • Technical assistance in adapting tools for use at a specific organization can be very effective