Purpose: Social workers have been involved with drug abuse research for many years. In many situations, social workers have been the providers of treatment, but over the past 20+ years, social workers have been the principal investigators for many key studies about treatment and prevention interventions. Thus, the purpose of this introductory presentation is to describe the accomplishments of social work researchers over the past 20 years.

Method: The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) have spearheaded research on substance abuse since the early 1970's. Since that time, drug and alcohol abuse have been acknowledged as key public health problems in this country and social workers have responded to calls for research through Program Announcements and Requests for Proposals. In the 1980's, the Federal government reorganized ADAMHA by moving NIDA, NIAAA and NIMH (National Institute on Mental Health) to NIH (National Institute on Health) and formed the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to manage block grants for states in substance abuse and mental health treatment. The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is a part of SAMHSA and, on occasion, funds projects aimed at expanding drug treatment services for various populations (e.g., adolescents) and for various substances (e.g., methamphetamine). Recently, NIDA, NIAAA and CSAT have been coordinating their efforts to address drug abuse problems across the country. In this presentation, we will examine the history and current operation of prevention and treatment services for drug and alcohol use in this country.

Results: Specific social work researchers and projects will be identified and described in this presentation to highlight social work's contribution to drug and alcohol abuse research and service provision. Special tribute will be given to Drs. David Nurco and Robert Battjes for their efforts to improve drug abuse intervention research overall and to include social workers as principal investigators.

Conclusions: By the end of this introductory presentation, symposium participants will be able to describe the contributions of social work to drug and alcohol interventions research over the past 20+ years and to describe specific researchers and projects that represent social work approaches to these problems.