Northeast > Services > Webcast

Substance abuse and mental health prevention and treatment providers, community coalitions, State Incentive Grants (SIG), Strategic Prevention Framework SIGs, Co-Occurring SIGs, medical and law enforcement professionals who are interested in learning about the importance of using a comprehensive approach - including prevention and early intervention - to address co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders.

II. Overview:

When substance use and mental illness coincide, lives and families are often devastated. Media stories about people living with and affected by mental health and substance use disorders often focus on the harm and danger that affected individuals pose to society. However, professionals, families and communities across the country are using proactive, innovative and research-based approaches to stem these problems before they overwhelm the lives of families and individuals at risk.

Research suggests there is a "window of opportunity" during which preventive interventions could delay the onset or reduce an individual's risk of developing a co-occurring disorder. In addition, prevention research demonstrates the effectiveness of evidence-based prevention programs in reducing the risks associated with mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression conduct disorders, and substance abuse. This research suggests there is a role for preventive interventions to inhibit the onset and progression of co-existing substance use and mental disorders.

This webcast will describe ways in which prevention is being integrated into programs at the Federal, State, and local levels. We will hear from prevention experts who will describe State and Federal initiatives that promote prevention of co-occurring disorders, as well as from individuals who will describe "windows of opportunities" that existed in their lives for early intervention to offset their co-occurring disorders.

III. Objectives:

During this webcast, viewers will have the opportunity to:

• Hear personal stories from individuals affected by substance use and mental health disorders
• Hear about the extent and epidemiology of this problem in the US
• Learn about Federal, State and local initiatives to address this problem
• Understand what preventive services are available for family members of persons with co-occurring disorders who are at increased high risk
• Become aware of resources and tools for implementing prevention and early intervention services in various settings

IV. Panelists:

Thomas Deloe, PhD

Thomas R. Deloe serves as a social science research analyst at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention in Rockville, Maryland. He is the leading expert for planning, developing and implementing national cross-site research and evaluation studies of substance abuse prevention programs targeting high-risk youth. In addition Dr. Deloe is responsible for synthesizing information to develop new programs and methods for conducting prevention research studies, as well as developing requests for proposals to conduct prevention research/evaluation studies. Dr. Deloe manages a portfolio of grant programs and collaborates with stakeholders, federal and state officials, and other interested groups to develop knowledge concerning effective prevention programming at the family, school, and community level.

Prior to his role as Social Science Research Analyst, Dr. Deloe was Public Health Advisor at the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, where he conducted oversight and review of substance abuse prevention programs under the Federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant. Other responsibilities included providing technical assistance and advice to States and communities on the planning, administration, and programming of their SAPT Block Grant activities, as well as overseeing program research and development activities concerned with substance abuse prevention. Dr. Deloe holds a bachelor of arts in political science from Gettysburg College, masters in public administration (MPA) from North Carolina State University, and a Ph.D. in public administration with an emphasis on public health policy and administration from Pennsylvania State University.

Deborah McLean Leow is an associate director for CSAP’s Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (CAPT). She has worked with state and community service providers and leaders for the last 8 years to make evidence-based substance abuse prevention programs and practices available and accessible to local communities. Ms McLean Leow is a social worker by profession and has worked in the prevention field for over 12 years in service delivery, program development and coordination, training and technical assistance, and workforce development in both substance abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Ms. McLean Leow earned her MSW from Syracuse University and her BA in sociology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Previous to her work with EDC, Ms. McLean Leow served as special assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs at Syracuse University coordinating a federally-funded grant to reduce substance abuse among college students. She was instrumental in developing a comprehensive program including a university-wide policy on alcohol, other drugs and tobacco, a referral and intervention program for students-at-risk, and a campus-community coalition. During her six years at Syracuse, Ms. McLean Leow ran peer-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs, conducted HIV/AIDS testing counseling, and coordinated a community-based HIV/AIDS prevention research project for socially/economically disadvantaged women. She is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Substance Abuse Leadership Fellow and a Guyanese immigrant living in Montclair, New Jersey with her husband.

Brenda Rowe, PhD, MPA, MSW

Brenda J. Davis Rowe, MSW, MPA, Ph.D., serves as the director of prevention services and programs for the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases of the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) with responsibility for promoting science/research-based, as well as promising prevention programs, practices and strategies that promote healthy alcohol and drug free lifestyles for children, youth, their parents and their communities. Her work involves a strong and concerted effort to respond to research trends that have shown correlations over time between substance use and abuse and other risky behaviors and debilitating diseases; including unprotected and premature sexual behavior of teens, teen pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, school failure and underachievement, school and community violence and crime, suicide, emotional instability and mental illness, drug related-birth defects and diseases, domestic violence, HIV-AIDS, economic instability and homelessness. She works diligently to promote prevention across the lifespan with an emphasis on promoting mental health in general, with increasing emphasis on adult and older populations as the models of good physical and mental health. As a major public policy specialist, Dr. Rowe has focused much of her work on child and family policy including welfare reform, child welfare services, child maltreatment, education policy, and health policies impacting the public. She is especially astute at developing and working with community collaborations and partnerships to facilitate planned change and at assisting such organizations in acquiring funding for program development and sustainability.

Dr. Rowe has conducted research on neglected and delinquent youth in correctional facilities; served as reviewer for evaluation contractors for the National Cross Site Evaluation of High Risk Youth Demonstration Grant Programs, U S Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service; and a member of the CSAP Exemplary SA programs Expert Panel.

Dr. Rowe has served as assistant professor of public policy at a number of universities including The Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Kansas, and Atlanta University.

She received her bachelor’s degree in sociology, earned MPA and Ph.D. degrees in government and politics with dual concentrations in public administration (organization theory) and public policy (social welfare policy, planning and administration from Atlanta University.

An organization theorist, as well, Dr. Rowe utilizes her experience as a practitioner-scholar to apply theory to “real-world” organizational planning and programming challenges assisting a variety of public and private organizations in fund procurement, executive leadership development, organizational and program development; board development and training; organizational design and restructuring; diversity awareness and training; research; and mediation and collective negotiations.

Darren Skinner, PhD, LCSW

Darren C. Skinner, Ph.D., is a PA state licensed social worker (LSW), PA state Certified Addiction Counselor (CAC), PA state certified co-occurring disorder professional (CCDP) and earned a doctor of philosophy (PhD) in social welfare from Yeshiva University in New York City. Dr. Skinner has 17 years experience in the field of behavioral health, spending the last nine years in supervisory and management positions. Dr. Skinner served (for five years with Dr. Bert Pepper) as an Independent Training Consultant with the Information Exchange, which specialized in providing co-occurring disorder, mental health, and substance abuse specific education and training. Dr. Skinner has also served as an adjunct professor at the Metropolitan College of New York City for four years and co-developed the school’s Alcoholism and Addiction Certificate Program in 1999. Dr. Skinner is also the co-founder of Stroman and Skinner Training and Consulting Associates in New York City, a training organization specializing in providing substance abuse prevention and treatment education and training to meet New York State addiction counselor credentialing and recredentialing requirements. In addition, Dr. Skinner consults with NDRI’s Center for the Integration of Research and Practice. The scope of the work has involved assisting in the development and implementation of modified TCs for persons with co-occurring disorders in shelters. Dr. Skinner co-authored the program manual for the “Modified TC for Homeless Mentally Ill Chemical Abusers in a Shelter”, a program operated by the Salvation Army of Greater New York.

Dr. Skinner has served as a consultant for SAMHSA’s CSAT; as a consensus panel member in 2001 for the Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) No.40 entitled: Substance Abuse Treatment and Group Therapy (due to be released in 2005); and as a field Reviewer for TIP No. 42 titled: Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders, and TIP No. 7 (update) entitled: Screening and Assessment for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Among Adults in the Criminal Justice System. Dr. Skinner also participated in the March 2002 SAMHSA constituent input meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, for the development of a legislatively mandated report to Congress focusing on individuals with co-occurring disorders of substance abuse and mental illness.

Dr. Skinner is currently employed by Gaudenzia, Inc., the largest not-for-profit provider of drug and alcohol prevention and treatment services in PA, and is the Division Director of Co-Occurring Programs at 1306 Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, PA.

V. Registration Instructions:

If you are planning to view this webcast, please register by going to www.northeastcapt.org/course_registration_mpi/register_main.asp. Knowing who will be watching the broadcast lets us tailor the content to meet the needs of our viewers. Registration also provides us with the information we need to send you follow-up materials and notification of future CAPT events.

The registration form includes a place for you to submit questions and identify issues that you would like us to address during the webcast. We encourage you to do so!

On receiving your registration, we will send you a link to where you can view the webcast online.

VI. Resources:

1. Statistics of Interest
Depression and Other Co-occurring Disorders are Highly Correlated with Substance Dependence or Abuse
http://prevention.samhsa.gov/default.aspx

2. Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders
Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders, TIP 42, provides guidelines, assessment tools, strategies and models for treating patients for both mental health and substance abuse disorders in whichever setting they go for treatment—whether it's a substance abuse treatment facility, mental health provider or clinic.
To order copies, see the link below.
http://store.health.org/catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductID=16979

3. SAMHSA's Report to Congress
The full text of SAMHSA's 2002 Report to Congress on the Prevention and Treatment of Co-Occurring Substance Abuse Disorders and Mental Disorders is available on the SAMHSA Web site. Chapters include information on characteristics and needs of individuals with co-occurring disorders, evidence-based practices, barriers to treatment, Federal block grants and state program activities, and the Agency's 5-year blueprint for action.
Visit http://alt.samhsa.gov/reports/congress2002/index.html.

4. Developing Treatment Programs
SAMHSA's Strategies for Developing Treatment Programs for People with Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders provides information on methodology and key lessons on designing services for adults with co-occurring disorders. This resource also includes appendices with information from expert panels and telephone surveys, as well as training curricula.

Both publications are available from SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20847-2345. Telephone: 1 (800) 729-6686 (English and Spanish) or 1 (800) 487-4889 (TDD). Online, the publications are available at www.oas.samhsa.gov.

5. National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (NREPP)
SAMHSA Model Programs
SAMHSA defines evidence-based programs in one of three categories—

• Promising Programs
• Effective Programs
• Model Programs

6. About Starting Early Starting Smart

Starting Early Starting Smart (SESS) is a knowledge development initiative designed to:

• Create and test a new model for providing integrated behavioral health services (mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment) for young children (birth to 7 years) and their families; and to
• Inform practitioners and policymakers of successful interventions and promising practices from the multiyear study, which lay a critical foundation for the positive growth and development of very young children.

• Service system redesign
• Service access and utilization strategies
• Strengthening the home environment
• Targeting benefits for children
• Using culture as a resource in planning services with families
• Working with families from a strengths-based perspective

Bibliography
http://www.captus.samhsa.gov/northeast/pdf/audio_conference/bio_coocurring_audio_c040505.pdf

Co-occurring Center for Excellence (COCE) Overview Papers
http://www.coce.samhsa.gov/cod_resources/papers.htm

Early Intervention: A Strategy for Prevention Practitioners
http://www.captus.samhsa.gov/northeast/prevention_materials/early_intervention/early_intervention.cfm

VII. Contact Information:

If you have questions or need additional information about this webcast, please contact Valda Grinbergs at vgrinbergs@edc.org or 617-618-2949.