NATIONAL OFFICE: In hopes of simplifying staff member contact information changes and updates on the ATTC Network web site, a feature was recently added to your Administration Portal to update staff contact information for your Regional Center. This information will drive your “Staff Directory” on your Regional Center’s section of the Network website. In addition, the Committee and Workgroup section has been updated to reflect current committees and workgroups. When you log onto your Admin Portal, you will see the section “Staff Directory”. Clicking on the “Enter and Edit Staff Contact Information” link will let you update, delete or add staff members.

NATIONAL OFFICE: ATTC Network news is featured on the home page of the Network Web site. This section highlights newsworthy items from around the Network such as awards received by ATTC staff, new publications by ATTC staff, updates from ATTC workgroups of interest to the public, etc. In other words, recent things happening around our Network that we want to BRAG about to our web users go in this section. We would love to keep this section timely and updated, please send us your news: Is there anything exciting happening within your Regional Center that would make sense to publish on a NATIONAL home page? Would you like to brag a little about an award received? Any special employee who deserves a mention for an outstanding accomplishment? Network News will be constantly updated so please send your blurbs to; christyc@umkc.edu. Be sure to title the subject line ATTC Homepage Network News Item.

MID-AMERICA: Mid-America ATTC’s 2009 Leadership Institute Commencement and Project Presentation event was held October 29, 2008 at the Hilton Kansas City Airport Hotel. Thirteen graduates presented their projects to peers, mentors, agency directors, supervisors and state leadership. This was the first regional LI Mid-America ATTC has held. Some protégés and mentors appreciated the opportunity to be exposed to the systems from other states and found working with someone outside their own state system beneficial. Others found the distance between mentors and protégés to be a barrier, and some mentors who had participated in previous state-based Institutes missed the intimacy and investment in infrastructure for their own state. Heather Gotham will conduct an evaluation of mentors and protégés to get further feedback that Mid-America ATTC will use in planning for the 2009 Leadership Institute. For more information, contact Debbie Rockford at 816.482.1175.

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST: The Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy still has some available seats at the MIA STEP Training on November 6, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2532 W. Peoria, Phoenix, AZ 85029. Don’t miss the opportunity, register today. Dr. Raymond Anderson will lead this eight hour training. Attendees will receive a CEU certificate for 8 hours of instruction given at the conclusion of the training. Participants in this training must have attended pervious Motivational Interviewing immersion training. If you are interested in attending this training, please contact Linda Williamson at linda.williamson@asu.edu.

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST: The Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy is pleased to host a two day training with John DeMiranda on the subject of Recovery Oriented Systems of Care on December 1 and 2, 2008 at Arizona State University, Memorial Union, Pima Room. This is a unique opportunity for participants to receive a basic understanding of recovery orientation in addressing community alcohol and drug problems. Items such as clinical practice and exposure to the latest thinking from leaders in The New Recovery Movement will be discussed. Participants at the conclusion of the training will be able to return to their organizations and communities prepared to initiate strategies consistent with recovery-oriented system of care, and support local recovery community initiatives and activities. For more information contact Linda Williamson at linda.williamson@asu.edu.

MID-AMERICA: Mid-America ATTC was a co-sponsor of the 16th Annual International Community Corrections (ICCA) Research Conference entitled, Risk, Resilience and Reentry. The conference was held October 19-22 in St. Louis, Missouri. Tim Condon, Ph.D., Deputy Director of NIDA, was the first keynote presenter. There was a substance abuse track provided in the breakout sessions. Mid-America ATTC provided conference speaker support, exhibited and provided contact hours through both NAADAC and IC&RC certification boards for substance abuse counselors who attended. Mid-America ATTC Associate Director Jan Wrolstad served on the conference planning committee. Jan Wrolstad, Associate Director and Debbie Rockford, Project Manager attended the four-day event. For more information contact Jan Wrolstad at wrolstadj@umkc.edu or 816.482.1150.

MID-AMERICA: Mid-America ATTC was a co-sponsor of a two-day regional spirituality and addictions conference, Unleash the Power of Faith: Destroy the Stronghold of Addiction. The conference was held October 16 & 17 in St. Louis, Missouri. Mid-America ATTC provided support for the keynote presenter, participant scholarships and exhibited and conducted the evaluation for the event. Mid-America ATTC has collaborated with the main sponsor of the conference, Committed Caring Faith Communities, on a number of previous faith initiative conferences in Arkansas and Missouri. For more information contact Jan Wrolstad at wrolstadj@umkc.edu or 816.482.1150.

MID-AMERICA: The Mid-America ATTC’s publication Psychotherapeutic Medications 2008: What Every Counselor Should Know is being used as course material for a graduate-level Behavioral Pharmacology class in the University of Kansas Department of Psychology in Lawrence, Kansas. David K. Johnson, Ph.D. is using this product to give students a concise reference for the usage, dose, and side effects of common psychiatric medications that they can use in their clinical work. For more information contact Heather Gotham at gothamhj@umkc.edu or 816.482.1135.

MID-AMERICA: Mid-America ATTC was a co-sponsor of a one-day conference on returning veteran issues. The bi-state conference, When the War Comes Home: Advocacy and Treatment for Returning Veterans, was held October 31, 2008 in Kansas City, Missouri. Substance abuse and mental health counselors from both Kansas and Missouri attended. Two keynote presenters—one at the beginning and one at the end—spoke on the value and how-tos of advocacy for returning veterans. The first keynote speaker was Rat Rowe Kerr, Missouri State Veterans Ombudsman for the Missouri Veterans Commission and Director of Operation Outreach. The second keynote speaker was Illona Meagher, an activist and journalist who has researched and written extensively about issues that returning veterans face when returning from war zones. Break-out sessions included: Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury, Suicide Among Returning Veterans, and Substance Abuse Issues Among Returning Veterans. Approximately 120 persons attended. For more information contact Jan Wrolstad at wrolstadj@umkc.edu or 816.482.1150.

PACIFIC SOUTHWEST: The Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy will be conducting a MIA STEP Training on November 6, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 2532 W. Peoria, Phoenix, AZ 85029. Dr. Raymond Anderson will lead this eight hour training. Attendees will receive a CEU certificate for 8 hours of instruction given at the conclusion of the training. Participants in this training must have attended pervious Motivational Interviewing immersion training. If you are interested in attending this training, please contact Linda Williamson at linda.williamson@asu.edu.

NIDA Initiative Activities