SAMHSA is Accepting Applications for Approximately $7.5 Million in Grants
January 14, 2010

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for Approximately $7.5 Million in Grants for fiscal year (FY)2010 in Grants to Expand Substance Abuse Treatment Capacity in Adult Drug Courts.

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The Recovery Revolution: Will it include children, adolescents, and transition age youth?
November 3, 2009

by William L. White, M.A., Arthur C. Evans, Jr., Ph.D., Sadé Ali, M.A., Ijeoma Achara-Abrahams, Ph.D., & Joan King, APRN, BC

Systems transformation efforts to shift addiction treatment from a model of acute stabilization to a model of sustained recovery management and to nest addiction treatment within a larger recovery-oriented system of care are underway at federal, state, and local levels, but these innovations to date have focused on the redesign of adult services. This paper explores the potential and limitations of recovery as an organizing concept for services to children, adolescents, and transition age youth, and offers recommendations on how services for these populations can be integrated into recovery- and resiliency-focused, behavioral health care systems transformation efforts.

Addiction Treatment and the Criminal Justice System
November 2, 2009

There's no question that alcohol and drug use are factors in a majority of arrests in this country and that working with offenders with substance-abuse problems is difficult and complex work. Although no intervention works 100 percent of the time, there
are evidence-based programs that reduce recidivism, return people to productive lives, make communities safer, and save taxpayers' money. In this issue of Resource Links, our contributors present their thoughts about, research on, and experiences with effective approaches with substance-abusing offenders. The authors discuss problems in this field, but also solutions based on proven interventions.

The Role of Partnership in Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care: The Philadelphia Experience
November 1, 2009

by Roland Lamb, M.A., Arthur C. Evans, Jr., PhD., and William L. White, M.A.

Considerable effort is underway in the United States to transform behavioral health care toward the goal of supporting the long-term recovery of individuals and families. Achieving this goal requires new organizational partnerships, refined strategies of collaboration, fresh approaches to policy and clinical decision-making, and a fundamental restructuring of relationships throughout the system of care. This paper describes the role such partnership processes are playing in transforming addiction treatment in the City of Philadelphia into a recovery-oriented system of care.

The Role of Addiction Medicine in the Transformation of an Urban Behavioral Health Care System
October 31, 2009

bt J. Bryce McLaulin, M.D., Arthur C. Evans, PhD., & White, W. L., MA

Considerable effort is under way at national, state and local levels to transform addiction treatment and the larger behavioral health care arena into "recoveryoriented systems of care." The emphasis on complex, multi-organization service integration processes, new service roles, and new service delivery sites can obscure the crucial role addiction medicine specialists should play and are playing in such system transformation processes. This article draws from our experiences within the Philadelphia behavioral health system to discuss that role.

Peer-based Addiction Recovery Support: History, Theory, Practice, and Scientific Evaluation, by William A. White
July 2, 2009

The history of addiction treatment and recovery in the United States contains a rich "wounded healer" tradition. For more than 275 years, individuals and families recovering from severe alcohol and other drug problems have provided peer-based recovery support (P-BRS) to sustain one another and to help those still suffering. Formal peer-based recovery support services (P-BRSS) are now being delivered through diverse organizations and roles. The goals of this monograph are to 1) define PBRS and P-BRSS, 2) present a brief chronology of P-BRS in the United States, 3) discuss the theories and principles that guide the design and delivery of P-BRS services, 4) illustrate the current varieties of P-BRSS, and 5) review the scientific studies that have evaluated P-BRS and specialized P-BRSS. The monograph closes with a discussion of the strengths and vulnerabilities of peer-based recovery support and professionally directed addiction treatment services.

Weathering the Storm: A Guide for Service Providers in Challenging Times
May 1, 2009

Challenging times are nothing new in the addictions field. As Angela Cornelius Dawson, Director of the Ohio Department of Drug and Alcohol Services said at the December meeting of the ATTC Network, "Our field is always in a recession". This edition of Resource Links offers encouragement as well as some practical suggestions about how to thrive in tough economic times. The contributors discuss everything from self-care for the counselor, to focused, efficient leadership on the state and agency levels, to building balance by using training dollars efficiently, to budget planning with your clients. Hopefully, the lessons we learn during difficult times will serve us well as we wait for better times ahead.



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