Dr. Elwin Wu of the Columbia University School of Social Work Receives a $1.4 Million Grant from the NIDA

May 12, 2006

New York, NY - Dr. Elwin Wu, an assistant professor at the Columbia University School of Social Work (CUSSW) has received a $1.4 million dollar grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Dr. Wu and his colleagues at the Social Intervention Group, a research center at CUSSW, will conduct the study focused on alternative to incarceration (ATI) programs for men and women involved with the criminal justice system in New York City.

Entitled "Service Use, ATI Program Outcomes, and Pro-Social Change," the project is a four-year, longitudinal panel study aimed to identify the active or key components that drive the success of ATI programs in New York City. These programs, operated by non-profit organizations contracted by the New York City Office of the Mayor and the New York City Council, are designed to provide rehabilitative services including drug treatment, vocational training material resources, and crisis intervention to drug-involved offenders. Individuals participating in ATI programs are often referred by judges and lawyers as part of a plea negotiation, deferred prosecution or placement as the sentence, and generally require at least six months of mandatory participation.

"The majority of existing research has shown that diversion programs for offenders have similar recidivism rates to incarceration," says Dr. Wu. "With the high costs associated with imprisonment, the good news is that ATI programs represent a cost-beneficial alternative to incarceration. The better news is that there is room to strengthen ATI programming efforts. This study will use a rigorous scientific design and state-of-the-art data analysis methods to identify the causal mechanisms that drive the success of ATI programs and reduce the impact of barriers to success."

Specifically, the study will focus on the impact of formal healthcare and psychosocial services and factors affecting service utilization among ATI program participants. The study will involve 360 men and women enrolled in ATI programs, each of whom will provide detailed information for the study over an 18-month period. Participant data will then be analyzed to identify factors that contribute to the efficacy of ATI programs. Findings from the study will be of critical importance to systematically and strategically guide future efforts to improve the success of ATI programs in New York City. Given that the criminal justice system concentrates or funnels people often dealing with multiple health and psychosocial needs such as HIV, hepatitis C, poverty, and discrimination, these endeavors represent an important effort to redress health disparities and to ensure at-risk populations are not further disenfranchised.

For more information or to interview Dr. Elwin Wu, please contact Jeannie Yip at 212-851-2327 or [email protected].

About CUSSW (www.socialwork.columbia.edu)

For more than 100 years, the Columbia University School of Social Work has been the leader in practice and policy. Located in New York City, the School offers Master's and Doctoral programs that are nationally and internationally recognized for their excellence. With a signature curriculum and far-reaching field education experience, CUSSW continues to be at the forefront of clinical practice, public policy, teaching, research and social work innovation in the 21st Century.

About the Social Intervention Group (www.socialwork.columbia.edu/sig)

The Social Intervention Group is a multidisciplinary research center that works to bring prevention and intervention models to local, national, and international communities. The center addresses co-occurring problems such as HIV/AIDS, drug abuse, and interpersonal violence and trauma. Through mentoring and training, the center aims to expand the number of students, faculty, and service providers who conduct rigorous community-based intervention research.