A Matter of Injustice: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the New York City Impact

By Sandy Bernabei, CSW, CASAC 
Chair, NASW Undoing Racism Project

The New York State Rockefeller drug laws enacted in 1973 in response to the post 1960’s drug epidemic, require that a judge impose a prison term of 15 years to life for anyone convicted of selling two ounces or possessing four ounces of a narcotic.

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Do Not Pass Me By: Social Workers and the Chemically Dependent

By Martha Adams Sullivan, DSW, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Community Liaison and Training, Division of Mental Hygiene, NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene

An estimated 75 percent of people with alcohol and substance abuse problems do not receive help. Yet, chemical dependency problems are treatable and preventable. The social work profession plays important roles in advocacy, policy development and research; in the provision of treatment and supportive services for affected individuals and families; and in individual and community-oriented prevention.

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Social Work in Addictions: A Historical Perspective

By Shulamith Lala Ashenberg Straussner, DSW, BCD, CEAP, Professor and Director, Post-Master's Program in Treatment of Alcohol and drug Abusing Clients, New York University, Ehrenkranz School of Social Work

The abuse of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs places an enormous burden on individuals, families, communities and society as a whole. It’s a rare social worker who does not come in contact with a substance abusing or addicted individual or an affected family member.

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Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse: Challenge Social Workers Face

By Paula Caplan, CSW, CASAC, Chair NYC-NASW Addictions Committee

Problems associated with the abuse of alcohol and other drugs are so widespread that they are evident in every aspect of life. However, supported by scientific advancements and evidence based practice, social workers are more equipped than ever to treat problems of alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse effectively.

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Social Work, Chemical Dependency, Advocacy and Policy

By John Coppolla, CSW, Executive Director, NY Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers, Inc.

Social workers are an invaluable part of the chemical dependency treatment and prevention services workforce. With a variety of professional orientations including clinical, policy, research, and advocacy, social work helps to shape the direction of chemical dependency services.

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Outpatient DBT Treatment for Forensic Clients

By Jack Carney, DSW, past Clinical Director, FEGS Forensic DBT Program

FEGS (Federation Employment & Guidance Service, Inc.) celebrated the sixth anniversary of its Forensic Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program in December 2003. Initiated as a demonstration project in 1997, the program was designed to assist men and women who have serious mental illnesses, impulsive aggression towards self and others and criminal justice histories, to access outpatient clinical psychotherapy services.

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Social Workers Offer Holistic Approach to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders

By Keith Martin, RCSW, CASAC, Director of Mental Health and Chemical Dependency Services, Paul T. Cooper Center

Before she was born her grandparents introduced her to nicotine and alcohol. At conception her parents introduced her to marijuana and cocaine. After birth she knew what it was like to have a drug withdrawal syndrome. Her generational predisposition put her in an 80% risk factor group for becoming addicted to drugs.

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Professional Social Workers Achieve Effective Outcomes-Systematic Challenges Pose Major Risks

Focus Group Findings

In a focus group conducted in December, 2003 by the NYC-NASW Center for Social Work Policy and Practice, seven social workers from across the spectrum of addictions services discussed the different populations they serve, the challenges they and their clients face, as well as life and death issues at stake in providing services.

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Treatment Programs under the Chemical Dependency Regulations

By Joyce A. Moses, CSW, Deputy, Director, Office of Chemical Dependency Community Liaison, Division of Mental Hygiene, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

In 1992 a bill was passed that amended the Mental Hygiene Law to create the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) by merging two formerly separate agencies. The Chemical Dependence Regulations were created and offered an opportunity for OASAS to address other issues; this included the development of one Medicaid reimbursement rate for each Medicaid eligible treatment services category.

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