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Acknowledgements

This Web site was launched on February 14, 2005.

The COCE was funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Federal Project Officers for the COCE were:

Jorielle R. Brown, Ph.D. (Served as COCE FPO December 2005 through May 2008)
COCE Federal Project Officer
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 5-1052
Rockville, MD 20857
(240) 276-1176
(240) 276-2800-fax
jorielle.brown@samhsa.hhs.gov

 

George Kanuck (Retired—Served COCE FPO September 2003 through December 2005)

 

Charlene E. Le Fauve, Ph.D. (Served as COCE FPO May 2008 through March 2009)
COCE Federal Project Officer
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, DHHS
1 Choke Cherry Road
Room 5-1043
Rockville, MD 20853
(240) 276-2787
(240) 276-2800-fax
Charlene.LeFauve@samhsa.hhs.gov

Lawrence Rickards, Ph.D. (Retired—Served as COCE Alternate FPO September 2003 through December 2007)

The COCE Team was operated by The CDM Group, Inc. (CDM) in collaboration with the National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. (NDRI), the Center for Behavioral Health, Justice, & Public Policy at the University of Maryland (UMD), and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. The COCE team included a core of subcontractors with specialized expertise in areas such as criminal justice, homelessness, and consumer advocacy, and a large and diverse consultant pool. Together, the team of staff, subcontractors, and consultants reflected broad and balanced expertise in both substance abuse and mental heath fields, expertise in working with persons with co-occurring disorders (COD) in a variety of service settings, and experience with the practice of interdisciplinary integration and cross-fertilization.

Rose Urban, M.S.W., J.D., LCSW, CCAS, CSAC
Executive Project Director

Jill G. Hensley, M.A.
Project Director

Michael D. Klitzner, Ph.D.
Expert Social Scientist

Sheldon R. Weinberg, Ph.D.
Technical Assistance Specialist

Anthony J. Ernst, Ph.D.
Director of Technology Transfer

Debbie Tate, M.S.W., LCSW, QSAP, BCD
Technical Assistance Specialist

Fred C. Osher, M.D.
Expert Leader

Stanley Sacks, Ph.D.
Expert Leader

JoAnn Sacks, Ph.D.
State Technical Assistance Co-Director

John Challis, B.A., B.S.W, Dip Teach, Grad Dip, Soc. Sci.
Project Director and State Technical Assistance Co-Director

Andrew Osborne, M.S. Ed., CHES
Training Director

Sam Schildhaus, Ph.D.
Performance Partnership Grant Pilot Evaluation Director

Rose Urban, M.S.W., J.D., LCSW, CCAS, CSAC
Executive Project Director

As Executive Project Director of COCE, Ms. Urban provides expert leadership to the COCE. She oversees the planning and management of COCE activities and works closely with senior staff to develop state-of-the-art products and strategies to meet the needs of the field. She also provides technical assistance around clinical and infrastructure issues and identifies experts for specialized needs based on COCE's vast network of collaborating agencies and consultants.

Ms. Urban has more than 10 years' experience in substance abuse treatment and policy, with a concentration in co-occurring disorders, and more than 15 years of experiences as an attorney specializing in health care and business law. Her clinical practice has been devoted principally to persons with co-occurring disorders in Quadrants II, III, and IV, where she has also addressed numerous program infrastructure issues. She is a licensed clinical social worker, a certified substance abuse counselor, and a certified clinical addictions specialist. Ms. Urban is a CDM Vice President, bringing her broad range of business, legal, management, project, and treatment experience to corporate operations.

Ms. Urban is also the Project Director of the Alcohol Policy Information System, a project of NIAAA, and Executive Deputy Project Director of the Knowledge Application Program, a project of CSAT. She has directed the development of CSAT's Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) series since 1997, coordinating the publication of 15 TIPs, with another 10 currently nearing completion, including the new TIP Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders.

Jill G. Hensley, M.A.
Project Director

Ms. Hensley, COCE's Project Director, provides the day-to-day direction and management of the COCE, involving coordination of activities across an expert team of staff, subcontractors, and consultants. She manages the technical assistance process from conceptual development through delivery and evaluation. She also oversees the range of COCE tasks that serve to support and enhance the Center's main services, such as regional and national meetings, products and materials, Web site, and collaborative workgroups. As COCE Project Director, Ms. Hensley ensures quality oversight of all COCE contract requirements and maintains the consensus of stakeholders through the involvement of a national steering council.

Ms. Hensley has over 15 years of experience coordinating and managing technical assistance and evaluation research studies in the public health arena. Her project focuses have included substance abuse prevention and treatment, mental health practice innovations, models of integrated care for populations with multiple diagnoses, community coalition building, and mental health and education programs in criminal justice settings. In addition to her project management background, she has experience in group facilitation, survey development and implementation, interviewer training and quality assurance support, data analysis and reporting, and case study evaluation.

Ms. Hensley previously served as Project Manager for the HIV/AIDS Treatment Adherence, Health Outcomes and Cost Study's Coordinating Center, a project funded by a collaborative of six Federal agencies led by the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). She also directed an evaluation of the Phase I: Community Action Grant Program for CMHS, focused on identifying effective elements of consensus building initiatives necessary for the implementation of exemplary mental health practices at the local level. She also managed a technical assistance program for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, and has worked on a range of other studies involving child welfare, criminal justice, and education issues.

Michael D. Klitzner, Ph.D.
Expert Social Scientist

Dr. Klitzner provides expert direction on COCE's overall approach, product development, and sustainability efforts. He served as a key framer of COCE's technical assistance model, conceptual framework, Vision Statement, and informational products. In addition, he provides staff leadership in coordinating COCE's overview papers, contained on this Web site. Dr. Klitzner also brings an extensive background in substance abuse prevention to address technical assistance needs in this area.

Dr. Klitzner has been a Principal Social Scientist at CDM since 1995, providing oversight and quality assurance for a range of social science and health policy research projects. His experience in substance abuse prevention includes evaluating comprehensive, community-based demand reduction programming, drinking and driving prevention and treatment, health education, and medical and nursing education.

Dr. Klitzner serves as a senior staff member on CDM's Alcohol Policy Information System in addition to his role with COCE. He was an alcohol and other drug abuse expert on the Scientific Advisory Panel of the American Medical Association's Guidelines for Adolescent Preventive Services project. He has served as a content expert for several texts on alcohol and other drug abuse treatment, including the clinically oriented Addictive Disorders. He is a member of the Psychosocial Research Subcommittee of the National Institute on Drug Abuse's Extramural Research Advisory Committee and an ad hoc member for research grant review panels on drug abuse prevention, drug abuse treatment, and AIDS prevention.

Sheldon R. Weinberg, Ph.D.
Technical Assistance Specialist

Dr. Weinberg screens and assesses technical assistance requests from sub-state entities. In this capacity, Dr. Weinberg consults with requestors to help refine and clarify their needs in the context of their particular settings and populations. Dr. Weinberg also serves as a member of COCE's senior team, and participates in the planning and review of COCE's strategies and products to support COCE's technical assistance services. In his various roles with COCE, he brings extensive content knowledge in such areas as services for adolescents, State systems, aging programs, and diverse treatment provider settings. Dr. Weinberg also has a background in instrumentation development, including screening and assessment tools, and as a developer and field tester of materials, manuals, and best/promising practices.

Dr. Weinberg has 35 years' experience as a licensed psychologist, consultant, and program director. He has a broad range of clinical, administrative, and research skills across diverse groups, ages, and substance abuse and mental health disorders. As a counselor and psychologist, he has worked with a variety of populations across the country, and he has published and presented widely on treatment and drug use issues. He has also developed and conducted training and workshops for treatment professionals in both the public and private sectors.

In addition to his work with COCE, Dr. Weinberg oversees content and provides expert assistance/review of all TIPs and collateral products for CSAT's Knowledge Application Program, including the TIP Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders. Prior to his work at CDM, Dr. Weinberg served as a Senior Alcohol and Other Drug Research Analyst with NASADAD and worked in private practice.

Anthony J. Ernst, Ph.D.
Director of Technology Transfer

Dr. Ernst serves as the Director of Technology Transfer for COCE at CDM Group, Inc. He provides national leadership and oversight for strategic planning of technical assistance to cities, counties, tribes and tribal organizations, community based providers, educational establishments, criminal justice entities, and other social and public health providers. Dr. Ernst oversees case reviews and planning for technical assistance responses and recommendations, and establishes protocol for the distribution of information. As a content expert in co-occurring disorders, Dr. Ernst provides training and consultation as needed, and provides direction for national and regional meeting agendas. He is an active member of COCE's senior team and chairs COCE's technical assistance planning group.

Dr. Ernst has more than 25 years experience in the fields of mental health and substance abuse. Dr. Ernst has provided leadership and oversight for strategic planning, policy and rule development, training initiatives, and systems change strategies to establish "best practices" statewide for youth and adults with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Dr. Ernst has extensive experience in facilitating collaborative relationships with local, state, and federal partners. He has provided overall management leading to statewide integrated service delivery and has demonstrated leadership in curricula development, cross training strategies, and testing for face-to-face, intranet, and internet-based applications. Dr. Ernst is a licensed advanced clinical social worker and licensed chemical dependency counselor. He has maintained a private practice and managed both inpatient and outpatient behavioral health programs. Dr. Ernst has received teaching awards as an adjunct faculty at the University of Texas and the University of Illinois, and participated on and presented at numerous state and national conferences.

Debbie Tate, M.S.W., LCSW, QSAP, BCD
Technical Assistance Specialist

Ms. Tate screens and assesses technical assistance requests from sub-state entities. She consults with requestors to help refine and clarify their needs in the context of their particular settings and populations. Ms. Tate also serves as a member of COCE's senior team and participates in the planning and review of COCE's strategies and products to support COCE's technical assistance services. She has designed and facilitated co-occurring system change in service delivery focused on mental health, substance abuse, older adults, prevention, HIV/AIDS, employment, corrections, and criminal justice. Ms. Tate has provided leadership at the organization and county level in assessing existing services, employee culture, and systems dynamics to develop solutions to barriers that prevent effective client care. She has extensive background in development of group curriculum and program design for a variety of projects serving diverse populations.

Ms. Tate is a licensed clinical social worker, qualified substance abuse professional, certified EMDR specialist, and board certified diplomat with over ten years experience in the mental health and substance abuse fields in California. She has co-occurring disorders specialization in eating disorders, HIV/AIDS, and trauma. As a consultant and program director she has developed and provided individualized programs, training, and group curriculum for the implementation of integrated co-occurring disorder services for various organizations and agencies throughout San Diego County. In conjunction with these social service agencies Ms. Tate has provided leadership in advancing system and programmatic changes for the San Diego County establishment of a co-occurring integrated system of care.

Fred C. Osher, M.D.
Expert Leader

Dr. Osher serves as an expert leader for COCE, providing direction and input across all of COCE's services and products. In this role, he is an active member of COCE's senior team and technical assistance planning group. He manages the development and review of COCE's overview papers, available on this Web site, and maintains close contact with other experts in the field of co-occurring disorders, including COCE's Senior Fellows and Steering Council members, in order to ensure that COCE's work reflects current advancements in the field and avoids duplication. Dr. Osher authors or co-authors many of COCE's products, presents at a number of meetings and workshops on behalf of COCE, and provides expert input into the development of technical assistance recommendations and plans.

Dr. Osher is a national expert in co-occurrence of mental and addictive disorders, and serves as a consultant to SAMHSA on co-occurring disorders in the criminal justice system. He is the Director of Health Systems and Services Policy at the Council of State Governments and the former Director of the University of Maryland's Center for Behavioral Health, Justice and Public Policy. He is also a staff psychiatrist at Baltimore's Health Care for the Homeless. He developed an internationally recognized comprehensive mental health community service system for the citizens of south and southwest Baltimore. He has a long history of public sector service at local, State, and Federal levels. He also served on President Clinton's Health Care Reform Task Force. Dr. Osher is author and co-author of numerous publications on homelessness and mental illness that investigate topics such as dual diagnosis, substance abuse, housing, and treatment.

Stanley Sacks, Ph.D.
Expert Leader

Dr. Sacks serves as an Expert Leader for the COCE, providing direction and input across all of COCE's strategies and products, and oversees the training and technical assistance delivery to States under the COCE. In these capacities, he is an active member of COCE's senior team and technical assistance planning group. Dr. Sacks authors or co-authors many of COCE's products, presents at a number of meetings and workshops on behalf of COCE, and provides expert input into the development of technical assistance recommendations and plans for State requestors, including those with co-occurring State Incentive Grants and Policy Academy States.

Dr. Sacks, a clinical-research psychologist, is the Director of the Center for the Integration of Research & Practice (CIRP) at National Development and Research Institutes, Inc. in New York City. Dr. Sacks and the staff of CIRP specialize in the integration of research and practice, and provide technical assistance to develop model programs. The author of numerous publications, Dr. Sacks is the Chair for CSAT's TIP Substance Abuse Treatment for Persons with Co-Occurring Disorders. He is also Principal Investigator or Co-PI for several research projects: NDRI Colorado Research Center for CJDATS funded by NIDA; Dual Assessment & Recovery Track for Co-Occurring Disorders, and Integrated Residential/Aftercare TC for HIV/AIDS & Comorbid Disorders funded by SAMHSA. Dr. Sacks has served as Deputy Director of Programs in a large urban center of multiple programs for adolescents, has provided organizational consultation to many human services agencies, and has maintained a private practice for over 30 years.

JoAnn Sacks, Ph.D.
State Technical Assistance Co-Director

Dr. Sacks is COCE's State TA Co-Director, providing oversight, planning, and implementation of technical assistance and training for all States. She works closely with the Co-Occurring State Incentive Grants in identifying priorities and needs in implementing their grant plans. She also serves as a co-occurring content expert in advising Policy Academy States as they create strategic state plans for addressing co-occurring disorders and provides technical assistance during the implementation phase.

http://www.ndri.org/about/bios.html#sacksj

Dr. Sacks is Deputy Director of the Center for the Integration of Research & Practice (CIRP) at NDRI in New York City. She has a rich and varied portfolio of executive, administrative, clinical, programmatic, and research experience and expertise. She has been involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of treatment models for special populations (mentally ill chemical abusing adults and women) for the past 20 years. She spearheaded the development, and supervised the operation, of a continuum of residential and outpatient treatment programs for homeless men and women with co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse in New York City. Dr. Sacks is an expert in training and technical assistance and has provided training for State correctional systems and community-based agencies in developing and refining correctional, residential, and outpatient treatment programs for specialized populations, including addicted women, mentally ill chemical abusing MICA adults, and HIV+/MICA individuals. Her work in the CIRP at NDRI, has focused on the use of research data to improve treatment practices within community agencies as well as State treatment systems, and the use of treatment outcome and cost information to inform policy and planning on a national and State level.

Dr. Sacks is Principal Investigator on a NIDA-funded research project evaluating the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of prison-based treatment programs for substance abusing women in Colorado. She is also Principal Investigator on a SAMHSA-funded cooperative agreement project on the Family & Aftercare Model (FAM) for Homeless Families, which focuses on enhanced treatment approaches to addressing the issues of homeless addicted women with co-occurring mental illness and their children. In Colorado, she is Co-Investigator on the NIDA-funded Rocky Mountain CJDATS (Criminal Justice Network) project, evaluating treatment approaches for men and women in the criminal justice system. In addition, Dr. Sacks is Co-Investigator/Evaluator for four SAMHSA-funded projects evaluating outpatient and residential treatment programming for men and women with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders, and for postpartum women and their children.

John Challis, B.A., B.S.W, Dip Teach, Grad Dip, Soc. Sci.
Project Director and State Technical Assistance Co-Director

Mr. Challis serves as Project Director and State Technical Assistance Co-Director for the COCE at NDRI. He manages all aspects of the technical assistance process for State requests and provides input into the overall planning of COCE's strategies and products as one of COCE's senior team members. He brings extensive knowledge of clinical and infrastructure issues related to substance abuse treatment and co-occurring programs to his role of technical assistance provider for States, including those with co-occurring State Incentive Grants and Policy Academy grants. Mr. Challis also oversees the development of training curricula for the COCE.

Mr. Challis has over 22 years' experience in the substance abuse treatment sector and over 17 years of experience developing and directing co-occurring treatment programs for adults, adolescents, and parents with children in both residential and intensive outpatient settings. Prior to his work with the COCE, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Odyssey House in New Zealand and Director of Adolescent Services for Odyssey House in Australia. His areas of expertise include the treatment of severely mentally ill people in substance abuse treatment settings, workforce development, clinical supervision, systemic development, executive management and strategic planning, and the therapeutic community treatment model. He has chaired a variety of national boards including the inaugural chairing of the New Zealand Accreditation Board for Alcohol and Drug Services and has been a presenter at National and International Conferences.

Andrew Osborne, M.S. Ed., CHES
Training Director

Mr. Osborne provides leadership for the development of COCE's three curricula/training modules. He works closely with Mr. Challis to conduct comprehensive inventories of existing curricula in order to identify gaps and need.

Mr. Osborne is director of the Training Institute at NDRI and Director of the Training and Dissemination Core of the Center for Drug Use and HIV Research. His responsibilities include disseminating behavioral science research findings to treatment and prevention practitioners. He has over 20 years of progressive management experience in curriculum/program design and professional in-service training in the areas of public health and employment training. His areas of expertise include substance abuse prevention/intervention/treatment, drug pharmacology, assessment interviewing, pregnant substance abusers, drug exposed children, children of substance abusers, cultural competency, stages of behavioral change, human sexuality, sexually transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, and relapse prevention.

Prior to his work with NDRI, Mr. Osborne was the Director of Day Treatment for the NYC Department of Probation. He has also served as a consultant for a range of clients, including Columbia University Teachers College, Reality House, Fordham University School of Social Work, NYC Board of Education, Hunter-Brookdale, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Lehman College, Cornell Cooperative Extension, State Education Department, Mental Health Association of Nassau County, and NYC Transit Police.

Sam Schildhaus, Ph.D.
Performance Partnership Grant Pilot Evaluation Director

Dr. Schildhaus directs the Performance Partnerships Grant Pilot Evaluation, which involves 11 States. The pilot evaluation consists of a planning, implementation, and data analysis and reporting phase. The selected States have convened to refine and implement data collection measures for co-occurring disorders that will be piloted in their States over 6-month duration. Dr. Schildhaus will oversee the pilot evaluation process and provide technical assistance to the States as needed during implementation. Following data collection, Dr. Schildhaus and NORC will analyze and report the findings. A final report will offer guidance for further modifications to the measures prior to official introduction to all States for implementation.  

Dr. Schildhaus manages SAMHSA's National Archive and Analytical Center and has worked as an investigator on projects funded by CSAT, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and SAMHSA. In addition, he was Senior Technical Advisor on the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study, a major evaluation of substance abuse treatment demonstration grants.

Prior to joining NORC, Dr. Schildhaus served for 5 years as Senior Policy Analyst at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, where he developed and interpreted studies on drug treatment, hard-core drug users, health services research, evaluation, and health care.

This page was last updated on 6/8/2007