October 2008Vol. 9, No. 8The SAMHSA Website for Child Welfare Professionals

Child welfare professionals who deal with families' substance use and the problems inherent in such use will find numerous resources on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website. In fact, users spending time on this large website will uncover a wide range of topics. Child welfare professionals may want to view the following webpages:

National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW)
http://www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/
Funded by SAMHSA and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, NCSACW provides expertise, online training and tutorials, and links to other resources on substance abuse issues in the child welfare population. For instance:

• Online tutorials and training for specific target audiences
  www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/tutorials/index.asp
• Screening and Assessment for Family Engagement, Retention, and Recovery
  www.ncsacw.samhsa.gov/files/SAFERR.pdf (3,510 - KB)

Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT)
http://csat.samhsa.gov
CSAT promotes community-based treatment by providing a searchable database of treatment facilities, a national helpline (English and Spanish), and links to publications and resources.

Treatment Improvement Exchange
http://tie.samhsa.gov/index.htm
These webpages serve as a place for CSAT staff and State and local substance abuse agencies to exchange information. Recent papers of interest include:

• Family-Centered Treatment for Women With Substance Use Disorders: History, Key Elements, and Challenges
  http://womenandchildren.treatment.org/documents/Family_Treatment_Paper508V.pdf (1,015 - KB)
• Funding Family-Centered Treatment for Women With Substance Use Disorders
  http://womenandchildren.treatment.org/documents/FINAL_Funding_Paper_508V.pdf (2,046 - KB)

The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI)
http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/ The NCADI offers publications and resources for a wide audience. A recent toolkit from NCADI focuses on program sustainability:

• Sustaining Grassroots Community-Based Programs: A Toolkit for Community- and Faith-Based Service Providers
  http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/prevline/pdfs/SMA08-4340.pdf (2,633 - KB)

The National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices
www.nrepp.samhsa.gov
Agencies, individuals, and organizations can search this database for interventions to prevent and treat mental health and substance use disorders. The database lists more than 100 interventions that have been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated by trained experts.

The Homelessness Resource Center
www.homeless.samhsa.gov
This interactive community of providers, consumers, policymakers, researchers, and public agencies provides state-of-the art knowledge and promising practices to prevent and end homelessness through training and technical assistance, information, online education, and networking and collaboration.

Co-occurring Center for Excellence
http://coce.samhsa.gov
These webpages provide links to training and technical assistance and other resources for the field of co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders.

National Center for Trauma-Informed Care
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/nctic
This technical assistance center is dedicated to building awareness of trauma-informed care and promoting the implementation of trauma-informed practices in programs and services.