Registration Now Open for the Addiction Studies Program for State Legislatures
I am pleased to invite you to participate in a workshop of the Addiction Studies Program designed specifically for legislators and legislative staff. The workshop is sponsored by Wake Forest University School of Medicine, National Families in Action, Treatment Research Institute, and the National Conference of State Legislatures. As state legislators and legislative staff dealing with many issues related to addiction in the health, human services and criminal justice arenas, you will benefit greatly from attending this workshop, which will be held at the 5th Avenue Suites Hotel in Portland, Oregon, on September 13-14 OR 15-16, 2005.
The purpose of the Addiction Studies Program is to inform key audiences, such as state legislators and legislative staff, about the science that underlies drug abuse and addiction. The program was founded in 1999 by Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and National Families in Action, a drug-prevention organization in Atlanta, Georgia, and is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The program has trained more than 200 persons to date.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, National Families in Action, Treatment Research Institute, and the National Conference of State Legislatures have obtained funding from NIDA to establish an Addiction Studies Program for state legislators and legislative staff. The program’s goal is to build ongoing relationships between scientists and state legislators and legislative staff by conducting workshops and maintaining an Internet web site for state legislators and legislative staff.
The workshop will be conducted by a faculty consisting of scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Duke University, and Treatment Research Institute, along with experts from National Families in Action. All of the faculty are outstanding teachers with real skill in explaining complex scientific information to lay audiences.
Please respond by July 21, 2006, to Allison Colker at 202-624-3581 or allison.colker@ncsl.org.
To register, please go to http://www.addictionstudies.org/legislators/register.html, print out the registration form, fill it in, and fax it to Allison Colker at 202-737-1069.
NCSL Technical Assistance on Addiction Treatment and Financing
The National Conference of State Legislatures has a limited amount of funds to underwrite technical assistance to state legislatures on the treatment of alcoholism and drug addiction and the financing of that treatment. NCSL can support a one-day conference, briefing, or workshop for a legislative committee or study commission. The briefing will include presentations, information and testimony by legislators from other states, as well as treatment experts in the field, state agency directors and university researchers. The topics are tailored to your state's needs, but can include treatment of methamphetamine addiction, drug courts, diversion, alcohol and drug abuse by youth, treatment for women, use of TANF funds for treatment, parity and other issues. If you are interested in learning more about the services NCSL could provide, please contact Allison Colker at 202.624.3581 or Allison.Colker@ncsl.org
Federal: Improving Outcomes for Children Affected by Meth Act of 2006
On June 8, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved a bill, "The Improving Outcomes for Children Affected by Meth Act of 2006," which authorizes $345 million in mandatory funding for each of FY 2007-2011 for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program, and continues PSSF's discretionary funding authorization of $200 million for each of these same years. The bill also requires that $40 million of the mandatory funds be reserved for grants to improve outcomes for children affected by methamphetamine abuse and addiction. In addition, this legislation reauthorizes and expands the mentoring of children of prisoners program. In his opening statement to the Committee, Sen. Baucus commended caseworkers in the foster care system for their dedication and hard work in helping vulnerable children.
