UB School Of Social Work, RIA Named University Partner For Northeast States Addiction Technology Transfer Center

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo School of Social Work, in collaboration with UB's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA), has been named the New York State university partner for the Northeastern States Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NSATTC).

The objective of the project is to improve knowledge transfer and influence policy and practice in the addictions field.

The center at UB is funded by a grant of $184,500 over two years and will be located in the UB School of Social Work. The three-state NSATTC, covering New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is managed and coordinated by the Professional Development Program (PDP) of the State University of New York at Albany's Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.

Lawrence Shulman, Ed.D., dean of the School of Social Work, stressed the importance of technology transfer in the health and human-services fields.

"Significant advances have been made in our understanding of substance abuse and its treatment. It does little good to identify best practices through research if the findings do not end up influencing policies and practices in the field," Shulman said.

The NSATTC at UB project will be directed by Nancy Smyth, Ph.D., associate dean of the School of Social Work and a nationally recognized expert on addictions treatment.

NSATTC at UB is charged with closing the gap between the most recent research findings and best practices, and the delivery of treatment services. It will try to improve treatment outcomes by maintaining and expanding networks and relationships among New York State substance-abuse treatment agencies, professional schools and researchers. NSATTC at UB will provide a resource to allow these organizations to communicate more easily and share information.

NSATTC at UB staff will work with individuals from disciplines that include criminal justice, substance-abuse treatment, mental health, primary health care, managed-care groups and professional and community organizations to address primary health-care, substance-abuse and mental-health issues in a variety of settings.

The center will support a local Web site that will be used as a source of information and communication for members, educational institutions and providers. The Web site also will offer links to up-to-date research findings, best practices and other substance-abuse-related information.

The center will work closely with a number of UB partners, including RIA, the School of Social Work's Center for Research on Urban Social Work Practice and its Institute for Addictions Studies and Training. In addition, NSATTC at UB will be guided by a state-wide advisory committee composed of representatives from UB, PDP staff and NSATTC partner agencies.

NSATTC is one of 13 Addiction Technology Transfer Centers in the nation committed to increasing the knowledge and skills of addiction-treatment practitioners from multiple disciplines by facilitating access to state-of-the-art research and education; heightening the awareness, knowledge and skills of all professionals who have the opportunity to intervene in the lives of people with substance-use disorders, and fostering regional and national alliances among practitioners, policy makers, funders and consumers to support and implement best-treatment practices.

Nationally, the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers are funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. In New York, NSATTC at UB will work with the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) and the recently developed Institute for Professional Development in the Addictions.

NSATTC at UB also will work through the School of Social Work's Institute for Addictions Studies and Training to conduct regional and state-wide technology-transfer activities. The agenda for these activities will be guided by a recently completed New York State needs assessment and will focus on direct practice and supervision issues.