Comprehensive Drug Research Center

The project, Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC) aims to provide training and technical assistance sercices to the substance abuse prevention field, including professionals, para-professionals, organizations and others in the prevention community focused on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities.

NAIAN-PTTC activities and services are focused on developing and disseminating cultural appropriate tools and strategies needed to improve the capacity of prevention specialists to deliver effective, culturally informed, evidence-based/knowledge practices with the intent of enhancing the quality of substance abuse prevention interventions, trainings and other prevention activities in AI/AN communities. 

The mission of the NAIAN-PTTC is to strengthen and promote systematic behavioral health practice improvements for Native providers in order to honor and contribute to the health and well-being of tribal and urban Indian communities, as well as training non-Native providers using culturally informed practices so that communities have the resources to care for their people in the most culturally informed and knowledge-based way and Native providers can determine how to integrate western practices into their traditional methods. 

The project aims to provide education and training opportunities for individuals and groups involved in providing substance abuse treatment and counseling, including health professionals in primary prevention and treatment for substance abuse. The project is housed in the University of Iowa College of Public Health in collaboration with CDRC at the University of Miami, but offer services nationwide for consulting, technical assistance, and continuing education seminars. The project focus specifically on the American Indian and Alaska Native (AI & AN) communities. 

The mission of the project is to strengthen and promote systematic behavioral health practice improvements for Native providers in order to honor and contribute to the health and well-being of tribal and urban Indian communities, as well as training non-Native providers using culturally informed practices so that communities have the resources to care for their people in the most culturally informed and knowledge-based way and Native providers can determine how to integrate western practices into their traditional methods. 

The National American Indian and Alaska Native MHTTC works with organizations and treatment practitioners involved in the delivery of mental health services to American Indian and Alaska Native individuals, families, and tribal and urban Indian communities to strengthen their capacity to deliver effective evidence-based and experience-based practices. This includes the full continuum of services spanning mental illness, prevention, treatment, and recovery support.

The goal of the Tribal Opioid Response grants (TOR) are to address the opioid crisis in tribal communities by: Increasing access to culturally appropriate and evidence-based treatment, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT) using one of the three FDA approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). Reducing unmet treatment need and opioid overdose related deaths through the provision of prevention, treatment and/or recovery activities for OUD.

Project PROTECT is a wellness and prevention program that is designed to prevent and reduce substance abuse and HIV/AIDS by targeting minority college students, ages 18-24 who are attending Florida Memorial University and its neighboring communities (Miami Gardens) with educational and psycho-social techniques. Each year of the 5-year project, 1,916 FMU students are served (82% Black, 5% Hispanic and 13% other races and ethnicities). The project leverages resources and expertise from four organizations: the applicant agency, Jewish Community Services, a licensed substance abuse prevention provider with more than 40 years of experience serving high risk individuals, families and communities; Florida Memorial University (FMU), the only historically black university in southern Florida serving as the primary project service delivery site; The Health Department as the HIV testing partner; and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Comprehensive Drug Research Center (CDRC) as the evaluation team. FMU students are at high risk for HIV as more than one in six of the FMU students tested last year were found to have an STD, increasing concerns about the risks for HIV transmission among students since STD infection is highly correlated with unprotected sex. Local data reflect alcohol to be the most widely used substance and the CORE survey of South Florida college students revealed that: 90% admitted to underage use of alcohol; 55% said alcohol consumption facilitates sexual opportunities; 64% acknowledged participating in drinking games and 29% admitted to having driven a car under the influence.

PACTT (Providing Adolescents and Children with Trauma-focused Treatment) is a federally funded HHS SAMHSA initiative. This initiative addresses well-documented, unmet needs of trauma-affected children, adolescents and families. We are serving two of our highest-risk communities known for the highest levels of community violence, including gang violence and homicides: a predominantly African American community of Liberty City and a predominantly Hispanic community of South Dade/Homestead, also home to many migrant families. The other disparity populations PACTT will reach are a large domestic violence shelter and a juvenile justice services department that have specifically requested trauma services to address high unmet needs, and military families. As a county of 2,662,874 documented residents, we are more populous than 16 US states, and desperately need more trauma services. While the existing trauma services are addressing our exploding population of sex-trafficked youth, the needs of predominately racial/ethnic minority children 6- 17 affected by (1) daily life-threatening community violence, including (2) juvenile justice youth, as well as (3) domestic violence and (4) military, largely remain unaddressed.

PACTT is guided by two overarching goals and many objectives too numerous to mention in the constraints of this abstract. Services Goal 1: Reduce the unmet need for trauma-focused services for Miami-Dade County children, adolescents, and their families; and Infrastructure Goal 2: Strengthen the capacity of the child and youth service delivery system to deliver high quality, evidence-based, trauma-focused care. Over the life of the cooperative agreement award, we propose to screen (n=1800) and assess (n=1118) for trauma and provide evidence-based TF-CBT services to 475 of these children, youth and families (100 per year minus start-up) whose screening and assessment document internalizing problems, such as depression or anxiety, and/or externalizing problems, like aggression, conduct problems, and oppositional or defiant behavior. Moreover, we will enhance system capacity to become better trauma-informed by training 1350 or more local health and human service professionals and will build trauma-focused infrastructure through creation of an Initial Advisory Leadership Council with representation from each of our five referral pipeline communities and systems along with PACTT staff and trauma-impacted youth and family voice.

The goal of this grant program is to prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance abuse and its related problems while strengthening prevention capacity and infrastructure at the community level. The program is intended to address one of the nation’s top substance abuse prevention priorities - underage drinking among persons aged 9 to 20.