A Root Cause of the Opiate Drug Abuse Epidemic

An epidemic of opiate abuse and addiction continues to ravage communities throughout the United States. Approximately 183,000 Americans succumbed to opiate overdoses between 1999 and 2015, and countless more have suffered the ancillary effects of addiction that include the loss of employment,...

Co-Occurring System of Care Committees (COSOCCs): An Innovative Regional Approach to Integrated Care

The integration of care for individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders continues to elude our healthcare and social service systems despite a nearly universal acknowledgment of its importance, both to the individuals afflicted with these conditions and the viability of...

A Dedicated but Neglected Workforce: A Clarion Call for Change

The social service agencies on which vulnerable New Yorkers depend rely heavily on the state government for financial support inasmuch as they act as extensions of it in fulfilling many responsibilities that would otherwise be borne by the public sector. Nevertheless, the period following the Great...

Healthy Aging Requires More Than Health

Our nation’s population is rapidly aging. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by 2030 all members of the Baby Boom generation will have reached or surpassed 65 years of age, and the population of older adults will outnumber children for the first time in our nation’s history (United States...

Meeting the Needs of Youth in Transition: Recommendations for Systems Reform

Adolescence is commonly defined as a period of transition between childhood and adulthood with distinct physical and psychological challenges that must be successfully navigated en route to maturity. One of these challenges is so deeply embedded in this period of development that it found its way...

The Promise and Peril of Performance Measurement

Few would dispute the assertion that our behavioral healthcare system and the many institutions on which it depends are in a state of transformation, if not upheaval. This transformation is characterized by many overarching themes and trends, most of which aim to enhance the quality of care...

Permanent Supportive Housing: The State of the Research

Researchers have a host of methods at their disposal with which to assess the efficacy of service interventions and to establish the foundations on which evidenced-based practices emerge. Some of these methods, such as the Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) (arguably the most potent of instruments...

Supervised Injection Facilities: A Logical Progression in Harm Reduction or a Bridge Too Far?

The scourge of opiate abuse continues to rage unabated. It claimed 42,000 lives in 2016, more than in any previous year (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018). That’s 115 human lives per day. Five of our brothers and sisters are lost each hour. One of our parents, spouses, sons or...

The Evolving Health and Social Service Landscape: Promise for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders

A year has passed since the United States Congress enacted sweeping legislation to address deficiencies in our national behavioral health service infrastructure. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) and 21st Century Cures Act, both passed by the 114th Congress in 2016, authorized a...

Supportive Housing Development: Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities

Government-funded supportive housing in New York State has a richly textured history that entails an amalgam of competing philosophies, political trends and economic imperatives. A complete survey of this history is beyond the scope of this article, and a comprehensive assessment of the “current...