Questionnaire

Outc

omes

Validate

d Pro

gram

Ev

Em

ployee A

ssist

ance S

ubstance

Use

Screenin

Impaire

d D

riv

er Inte

rventio

n Adult

Adolesc

en

Justi

ce D

ru

g Court

Acc

urate

Valid

ated O

utcom

A

dolescent E

valuatio

n Spanish

Im

paire

d Driv

er

A

dult Q

uestionnaire

Accu

ra

te J

ustice

O

utcom

Validate

d Substa

nce U

se Scr

eening P

rogra

m

Ev

Colle

ge Adolesc

ent Evalu

ation A

dult D

rug C

ou

Im

paired D

river In

terv

ention V

alidate

d Accura

t

Spanish P

rogra

m Evaluatio

n Em

ployee Ass

ista

Substance U

se Scre

ening A

dult Adolesc

ent Ev

Ju

stice A

ccurate

Outcom

es Spanish

Impaire

Questionnaire

Em

ployee Ass

istance V

alidate

Substance U

se Scre

ening Adolesc

Spanish Ju

stice A

ccura

Spanish

Justi

ce A

ccura

te Q

Substance

Use

Screenin

g P

rog

Adult C

ollege D

rug C

ourt A

dolescent E

v

Acc

urate

Substa

nce U

se Scr

eening S

panish Im

SASSI-3SASSI-A2Spanish SASSISAVR-S2SAS-ASLBADDS

SASSI-3SASSI-A2Spanish SASSISAVR-S2SAS-ASLBADDS

Dru

g Court

News & Reports

A Great Loss Leads to an Exciting Additionby Anne Hazeltine, SASSI Treasurer

A Great LossGlenn A. Miller, Ph.D. founded The SASSI Institute in 1988 after attaining his goal of developing an efficient, cost-effective, easy-to-administer, and empirically validated

screening tool. The SASSI assists those in the field who work to help individuals and families with substance use disorders. On July 30, 2013, Dr. Miller died. We at SASSI not only lost a leader, but we also lost a friend. Glenn personified the SASSI mission: help-ing people who suffer from alcohol and other drug problems and the professionals who serve them. At the United Way kick-off luncheon that fall, we learned Glenn had met with the executive director of a local non-profit just days before he died. They discussed research

data collection and charitable work, in a continuation of that mission. By that time, his body had been much weakened from cancer treatments, but his spirit and dedication had not. That was classic Glenn: always in search of a way to do more for those affected by addiction.

We who work here continue to be inspired by Glenn every day as we arrive at the beau-tiful setting in Southern Indiana that SASSI calls home. And while we may never stop missing him, we will all strive to carry on his legacy.Leads to an Exciting Addition One of the most important aspects of carrying on Dr. Miller’s legacy was to find a new leader. We are excited to have Nelson J. Tiburcio, Ph.D. join us as our new Chief Oper-

ating Officer. Dr. Tiburcio is a highly energetic, passionate leader who has accrued a wide range of experience over the past 25 years. He has been involved in areas of substance abuse, HIV/HCV expo-sure, prevention, prophylaxis and treatment, mental illness, co-occurring disorders, and drug & alcohol addiction treatment program planning, research, evaluation and outcome studies. One of his early passions has been evaluating / implementing successful drug treatment paradigms within inner city communities. His strong

substance abuse background, supervision experience, and scholarship have prepared Dr. Tiburcio to meet the challenges we face.

The SASSI Institute www.sassi.comThe SASSI Institute www.sassi.com

Glenn Miller, Ph.D.

Nelson Tiburcio, Ph.D.

Continued on page 2

A Great Loss Leads to an Exciting Addition......................1-2

Screening Issues in Public Assistance....................................2

In Memoriam, Mary O’Neill..........2

Administer the Spanish SASSI Online.........................................3

An Introduction from Dr. Tiburcio................................4

earlyearly INTERVENTION SAVES LIVESINTERVENTION SAVES LIVES

Volume 16, Number 1, 2015

4

In this Issue:

An Introductionby Nelson Tiburcio, Ph.D.

Dear SASSI Colleagues,

Please allow me to introduce myself; my name is Dr. Nelson Jose Tiburcio. I am a Latino drug and alcohol researcher, origi-nally from New York City. My academic degree is in Criminal Justice from the Graduate Center of New York and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. My training and expertise have been in the areas of substance use and abuse, sustained opioid recovery, public health, HIV/HCV prevention and treatment, community reentry, recidivism, cultural competence and health literacy in major urban areas. During a period of over twenty years, I have led, directed and/or collaborated on studies investi-gating the various initiates and public health consequences of illicit drug use, mostly heroin and prescription opioids but including cocaine, crack and other drugs among them.

Common consequences resulting from the difficulty of sustaining abstinence are high relapse rates, and for many individuals, cycling in and out of prisons, detoxes, rehabs, therapeutic communities and then “back out there” into active use. Once released from these institutional environments, additional consequences include overdose risk, and of course exposure to HIV and HCV. These risks affect not only the individuals themselves, but their families, friends and loved ones as well. I also noticed that very few managed to avoid these patterns. For many re-entering their communities from jails, prisons and other institutional settings, the prospect of re-entering conventional society was compromised by the fact that they were still unprepared to mitigate the risks that led to their substance abuse and/or incarceration. These difficulties appeared to be the driving force behind their relapse and recidivism. As may very well be the experience for your own clients, for so many, it boiled down to their being unable to identify, accept and understand that they had a problem and importantly, that these drug-related problems are treatable.

The SASSI Institute and the work Dr. Glenn Miller founded provide significant synergies with my own life-works. The SASSI mission and dedication to supporting and responding to the needs of clinicians, justice professionals, researchers, and educa-tors who work with those affected by substance misuse closely matches my own passions and directions in the substance abuse field. My experiences with community-based and longitudinal research studies and clinical practice lending “voice” to the populace we serve have been instrumental towards achieving these objectives. This is especially true for those affected individuals who might be unsure or unaware of the detrimental effects of their continued substance use. In combination with other psychological measures, counseling and cooperative agreements and similar working relationships, our screening and counseling work can be used to help individuals identify and effect change in self-perception, with an ultimate goal of achiev-ing and maintaining a greater sense of self-respect and respect for others. This is the true SASSI mission, but of course we must be ever mindful and vigilant that the SASSI instruments not be used to discriminate against individuals, including disqualify-ing job applicants. It is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to eliminate a job applicant or to deny benefits based on SASSI scores, and that clearly is not its purpose. Practitioners must establish policies regarding the use of assessment instru-ments in their settings according to appropriate legal, ethical, and professional guidelines. More information on the SASSI Institute’s policy in this regard is available here: www.sassi.com/policy.

I am delighted to take on the position of Chief Operations Officer with the full knowledge and understanding that building on Glenn’s work is admittedly no easy task, but I do so wholeheartedly. These are ever changing times in this new electronic age, where so much of our work and communication is web-based. A clear upside is that our newly developed platforms present further opportunities for the SASSI Institute to facilitate the work you do. To that end, our clinical, training, research, informa-tion technology and customer service teams have made enormous strides to enable you to do so efficiently and effectively, including online, paper and computer administration of the SASSI screening inventories: the adult SASSI-3, adolescent SASSI-A2, Spanish SASSI and specialized screening instruments for persons who are Deaf, the SAS-ASL, and the SAVR-S2, customized to screen for substance use disorders in individuals with other disabilities. The SAS-ASL and the SAVR-S2 are available via the SASSI Scoring and Report Service (SRS). This platform allows administration of a paper questionnaire that is faxed back to SASSI for scoring and a report. More information about our existing platforms and instruments is available here: www.sassi.com/products, www.sassionline.com, www.sassi.com/srs.

In closing, I am confident that together with the SASSI staff, colleagues, clinicians and consultants our endeavors will help fulfill the mission which is at the core of the SASSI Institute: to provide the critically needed services and assistance to those suffering from substance use disorders and the professionals who serve them. I am elated to lead this mission and together, accomplish our common goals. As always, we welcome and look forward to your comments, suggestions, questions, and requests. Sincerely,

Nelson Jose Tiburcio, PhD

The SASSI Institute www.sassi.com2 3The SASSI Institute www.sassi.com

His professional expertise includes locating and interviewing hard to reach populations for clinical and research purposes; interviewer training; and coordinating longitudinal follow-up studies with diverse groups. His award-winning doctoral dissertation in Criminal Justice from the Graduate Center of New York (Reisenbach Foundation Award) investigated the long-term recovery process from heroin use. It focused on ex-offenders who maintained abstinence for a period of five or more years. He served as an evaluator of several prison-based therapeutic communities for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He is a Research Scientist member of the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse (NHSN). He co-founded and is a former editor of the NHSN Newsletter “EL FARO.” He was elected Founding Chair of the NHSN Early Career Leadership Committee (ECLC) and serves as an adviser to the ECLC. Dr. Tiburcio joins our office by way of New York City where he was project director of several federally and privately funded studies in the Institute for Treatment Services Research and Institute for Special Populations Research at National Development and Research Institutes, Inc.

He is looking forward to the easy pace of living in a small town in Southern Indiana, home of Indiana University. This small college town has squeezed the metropolitan qualities of a large city’s worth of culture into it. We invite you to introduce yourself to Dr. Tiburcio if you would like, and share your experience using the SASSI with him. He can be reached at 800-726-0526, or e-mail: nelson@sassi.com, or look him up on LinkedIn.

We are pleased to announce that Spanish SASSI questionnaires are now available online at SASSIONLINE.com, offering you broader flexibility in administration options. It’s an easy-to-use online tool to administer, score and receive a narrative report on client screening results. You will have the ability to purchase single or multiple administrations with discounts for bulk purchases. Questionnaire delivery options include emailing a link directly to a designated email address for testing or opening it in a browser on a counseling office workstation for the client to complete. Questionnaires and Reports can be printed and will also be stored in your secure online dashboard.

Through your secure workspace, backed by our Security Commitment, SASSI Online enables you to order and administer questionnaires, receive immediate scoring of clients’ responses, and review client results and profile reports. You can do all this using a standard web browser and an internet connection.

The Spanish SASSI online screening report will indicate the Screening Result as either high or low probability of a substance use disorder as well as an indicator regarding the profile validity. When the result is a high probability of substance use disor-der, the report will indicate whether a moderate to severe substance use disorder is more likely or if further clinical evaluation is necessary to determine severity.

Example: Spanish SASSI Screening Results Overview Alcohol and/or Other Drug Problem: High Probability of Substance Use Disorder. Profile Validity: No Evidence of Screening Invalidity Secondary Classification Scale: Elevated SCS, moderate to severe substance use disorder is more likely. The client’s alcohol and drug frequency responses are based on: The Client’s Entire Life

Note: In addition to screening results, supplemental clinical information is required to meet the accepted standards for a DSM-5 clinical diagnosis of a Substance Use Disorder.The report also shows the client's scores on the Spanish SASSI scales:This client’s scores on the Spanish SASSI were:

This client’s score on the Secondary Classification Scale (SCS) indicates that the client is more likely to have a moderate to severe substance use disorder.About the Spanish SASSI Scales: FVA, FVOD, and SYM are face valid scales that are used in the decision rules to identify individuals who are likely to have a substance use disorder. All of the questions on the FVA, FVOD, and SYM scales address substance misuse in an apparent and direct manner. They measure acknowledged substance misuse and its consequences. OAT, SAT, DEF, and SAM are subtle scales that are part of the decision rules. The items that comprise these scales do not address substance misuse in an obvious or apparent manner. Additional information on the scales can be found in the Spanish SASSI Online User’s Guide.

The above section is followed by an explanation of how to give feedback on the Spanish SASSI based on the client’s screening results and symptom areas in which the individual acknowledged experiencing substance-related problems. Reviewing the individual items endorsed in these symptom areas will assist you in identifying referral or treatment plan-ning options for each client. These symptom areas include: Loss of control in usage; Negative consequences due to substance use; Time spent in use/neglect of obligations due to use; Use to manage emotions/cope with negative feelings; and Physical tolerance and/or withdrawal.

We welcome you to register today: SASSIonline.com

Adult SASSI-3 and Adolescent SASSI-A2 questionnaires are also available as well as a provisional version of the Adult French SASSI-3.

A Great Loss Leads to an Exciting Addition-Continued from page 1

Read an Introduction from Dr. Tiburcio on page 4

Screening Issues in Public AssistanceIn light of more and more states choosing to screen public assistance recipients for illegal drug use, it is a good time to share information regarding issues in screening public assistance recipients, and share our position regarding the use of the SASSI in that setting.

Increasingly, governmental agencies are requiring substance abuse assessment as part of the process of applying for general assistance. When policy makers recognize the value of providing adjunctive services such as substance use counseling and vocational counseling to recipients of general assistance in need of such services, the SASSI can be a helpful tool. Substance use treatment would have a beneficial effect on both the individual and society. However, when public assistance is made contingent on participation in the assessment and treatment process, it increases the risk of violations of ethical principles and applicants’ rights.

Because the SASSI Institute mission is to promote early identification of substance use disorders that ultimately leads to appropriate intervention, treatment, and ongoing recovery, we support screening for substance use disorders among the recipients of general assistance when the program is designed to benefit those recipients and does not infringe or abridge their rights. Our ultimate goal is to lessen personal suffering and societal costs that accompany substance use disorders. We strive to accomplish our mission by providing screening instruments for practitioners to use in developing screening programs in a broad range of human service settings, e.g., medical, counseling, criminal justice, vocational rehabilitation. We see as our responsibility to develop valid and useful measures, to disseminate information on the reliability and validity of those measures, and to distribute them to qualified counselors. Program administrators must establish policies regarding the use of assessment instruments in their settings according to appropriate legal, ethical and professional guidelines.

The SASSI Institute is pleased to provide information and/or assistance to human service providers, including public assis-tance agencies, to develop an assessment program that will further a shared mission of identification and treatment of substance use disorders. We encourage you to visit our website where you can read or download information regarding issues in screening general assistance recipients, ethical issues & our Position Statement at www.sassi.com/tanf.

In Memoriam

Now Administer the Spanish SASSI online

FVA 9

FaceValid

Alcohol

FVOD 0

FaceValid

Other Drugs

SYM 3

Symptoms

OAT 5

ObviousAttributes

SAT 4

SubtleAttributes

DEF 3

Defensive-ness

SAM 2

SupplementalAddictionMeasure

FPOS2

FalsePositiveCheck

FNEG3

FalseNegative

Check

SCS9

SecondaryClassification

Scale

It is with great sadness that we share with you the passing of our respected colleague, Mary O’Neill. Mary passed away on January 20th, 2015 after a long, fulfilling life. Mary spent many years in the alcohol & drug treatment field. During some of those years, she worked as a lead counselor at White Deer Run in Pennsylvania working with youth. Many of you may have had the opportunity to speak with Mary during her ten years at SASSI where she was a valued member of our clinical staff on the free consultation line. Even while working at SASSI, she continued to be a sponsor through

a local agency providing support for those trying to maintain sobriety. She enjoyed sharing her knowledge and compassion with friends and colleagues. She retired in April 2003 at the age of 71. She leaves behind two daughters and two grandchildren. She was also an avid animal lover and U.S. Veteran. Mary, you will be missed, and always lovingly remembered.

The SASSI Institute www.sassi.com2 3The SASSI Institute www.sassi.com

His professional expertise includes locating and interviewing hard to reach populations for clinical and research purposes; interviewer training; and coordinating longitudinal follow-up studies with diverse groups. His award-winning doctoral dissertation in Criminal Justice from the Graduate Center of New York (Reisenbach Foundation Award) investigated the long-term recovery process from heroin use. It focused on ex-offenders who maintained abstinence for a period of five or more years. He served as an evaluator of several prison-based therapeutic communities for the Office of National Drug Control Policy. He is a Research Scientist member of the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse (NHSN). He co-founded and is a former editor of the NHSN Newsletter “EL FARO.” He was elected Founding Chair of the NHSN Early Career Leadership Committee (ECLC) and serves as an adviser to the ECLC. Dr. Tiburcio joins our office by way of New York City where he was project director of several federally and privately funded studies in the Institute for Treatment Services Research and Institute for Special Populations Research at National Development and Research Institutes, Inc.

He is looking forward to the easy pace of living in a small town in Southern Indiana, home of Indiana University. This small college town has squeezed the metropolitan qualities of a large city’s worth of culture into it. We invite you to introduce yourself to Dr. Tiburcio if you would like, and share your experience using the SASSI with him. He can be reached at 800-726-0526, or e-mail: nelson@sassi.com, or look him up on LinkedIn.

We are pleased to announce that Spanish SASSI questionnaires are now available online at SASSIONLINE.com, offering you broader flexibility in administration options. It’s an easy-to-use online tool to administer, score and receive a narrative report on client screening results. You will have the ability to purchase single or multiple administrations with discounts for bulk purchases. Questionnaire delivery options include emailing a link directly to a designated email address for testing or opening it in a browser on a counseling office workstation for the client to complete. Questionnaires and Reports can be printed and will also be stored in your secure online dashboard.

Through your secure workspace, backed by our Security Commitment, SASSI Online enables you to order and administer questionnaires, receive immediate scoring of clients’ responses, and review client results and profile reports. You can do all this using a standard web browser and an internet connection.

The Spanish SASSI online screening report will indicate the Screening Result as either high or low probability of a substance use disorder as well as an indicator regarding the profile validity. When the result is a high probability of substance use disor-der, the report will indicate whether a moderate to severe substance use disorder is more likely or if further clinical evaluation is necessary to determine severity.

Example: Spanish SASSI Screening Results Overview Alcohol and/or Other Drug Problem: High Probability of Substance Use Disorder. Profile Validity: No Evidence of Screening Invalidity Secondary Classification Scale: Elevated SCS, moderate to severe substance use disorder is more likely. The client’s alcohol and drug frequency responses are based on: The Client’s Entire Life

Note: In addition to screening results, supplemental clinical information is required to meet the accepted standards for a DSM-5 clinical diagnosis of a Substance Use Disorder.The report also shows the client's scores on the Spanish SASSI scales:This client’s scores on the Spanish SASSI were:

This client’s score on the Secondary Classification Scale (SCS) indicates that the client is more likely to have a moderate to severe substance use disorder.About the Spanish SASSI Scales: FVA, FVOD, and SYM are face valid scales that are used in the decision rules to identify individuals who are likely to have a substance use disorder. All of the questions on the FVA, FVOD, and SYM scales address substance misuse in an apparent and direct manner. They measure acknowledged substance misuse and its consequences. OAT, SAT, DEF, and SAM are subtle scales that are part of the decision rules. The items that comprise these scales do not address substance misuse in an obvious or apparent manner. Additional information on the scales can be found in the Spanish SASSI Online User’s Guide.

The above section is followed by an explanation of how to give feedback on the Spanish SASSI based on the client’s screening results and symptom areas in which the individual acknowledged experiencing substance-related problems. Reviewing the individual items endorsed in these symptom areas will assist you in identifying referral or treatment plan-ning options for each client. These symptom areas include: Loss of control in usage; Negative consequences due to substance use; Time spent in use/neglect of obligations due to use; Use to manage emotions/cope with negative feelings; and Physical tolerance and/or withdrawal.

We welcome you to register today: SASSIonline.com

Adult SASSI-3 and Adolescent SASSI-A2 questionnaires are also available as well as a provisional version of the Adult French SASSI-3.

A Great Loss Leads to an Exciting Addition-Continued from page 1

Read an Introduction from Dr. Tiburcio on page 4

Screening Issues in Public AssistanceIn light of more and more states choosing to screen public assistance recipients for illegal drug use, it is a good time to share information regarding issues in screening public assistance recipients, and share our position regarding the use of the SASSI in that setting.

Increasingly, governmental agencies are requiring substance abuse assessment as part of the process of applying for general assistance. When policy makers recognize the value of providing adjunctive services such as substance use counseling and vocational counseling to recipients of general assistance in need of such services, the SASSI can be a helpful tool. Substance use treatment would have a beneficial effect on both the individual and society. However, when public assistance is made contingent on participation in the assessment and treatment process, it increases the risk of violations of ethical principles and applicants’ rights.

Because the SASSI Institute mission is to promote early identification of substance use disorders that ultimately leads to appropriate intervention, treatment, and ongoing recovery, we support screening for substance use disorders among the recipients of general assistance when the program is designed to benefit those recipients and does not infringe or abridge their rights. Our ultimate goal is to lessen personal suffering and societal costs that accompany substance use disorders. We strive to accomplish our mission by providing screening instruments for practitioners to use in developing screening programs in a broad range of human service settings, e.g., medical, counseling, criminal justice, vocational rehabilitation. We see as our responsibility to develop valid and useful measures, to disseminate information on the reliability and validity of those measures, and to distribute them to qualified counselors. Program administrators must establish policies regarding the use of assessment instruments in their settings according to appropriate legal, ethical and professional guidelines.

The SASSI Institute is pleased to provide information and/or assistance to human service providers, including public assis-tance agencies, to develop an assessment program that will further a shared mission of identification and treatment of substance use disorders. We encourage you to visit our website where you can read or download information regarding issues in screening general assistance recipients, ethical issues & our Position Statement at www.sassi.com/tanf.

In Memoriam

Now Administer the Spanish SASSI online

FVA 9

FaceValid

Alcohol

FVOD 0

FaceValid

Other Drugs

SYM 3

Symptoms

OAT 5

ObviousAttributes

SAT 4

SubtleAttributes

DEF 3

Defensive-ness

SAM 2

SupplementalAddictionMeasure

FPOS2

FalsePositiveCheck

FNEG3

FalseNegative

Check

SCS9

SecondaryClassification

Scale

It is with great sadness that we share with you the passing of our respected colleague, Mary O’Neill. Mary passed away on January 20th, 2015 after a long, fulfilling life. Mary spent many years in the alcohol & drug treatment field. During some of those years, she worked as a lead counselor at White Deer Run in Pennsylvania working with youth. Many of you may have had the opportunity to speak with Mary during her ten years at SASSI where she was a valued member of our clinical staff on the free consultation line. Even while working at SASSI, she continued to be a sponsor through

a local agency providing support for those trying to maintain sobriety. She enjoyed sharing her knowledge and compassion with friends and colleagues. She retired in April 2003 at the age of 71. She leaves behind two daughters and two grandchildren. She was also an avid animal lover and U.S. Veteran. Mary, you will be missed, and always lovingly remembered.

Questionnaire

Outc

omes

Validate

d Pro

gram

Ev

Em

ployee A

ssist

ance S

ubstance

Use

Screenin

Impaire

d D

riv

er Inte

rventio

n Adult

Adolesc

en

Justi

ce D

ru

g Court

Acc

urate

Valid

ated O

utcom

A

dolescent E

valuatio

n Spanish

Im

paire

d Driv

er

A

dult Q

uestionnaire

Accu

ra

te J

ustice

O

utcom

Validate

d Substa

nce U

se Scr

eening P

rogra

m

Ev

Colle

ge Adolesc

ent Evalu

ation A

dult D

rug C

ou

Im

paired D

river In

terv

ention V

alidate

d Accura

t

Spanish P

rogra

m Evaluatio

n Em

ployee Ass

ista

Substance U

se Scre

ening A

dult Adolesc

ent Ev

Ju

stice A

ccurate

Outcom

es Spanish

Impaire

Questionnaire

Em

ployee Ass

istance V

alidate

Substance U

se Scre

ening Adolesc

Spanish Ju

stice A

ccura

Spanish

Justi

ce A

ccura

te Q

Substance

Use

Screenin

g P

rog

Adult C

ollege D

rug C

ourt A

dolescent E

v

Acc

urate

Substa

nce U

se Scr

eening S

panish Im

SASSI-3SASSI-A2Spanish SASSISAVR-S2SAS-ASLBADDS

SASSI-3SASSI-A2Spanish SASSISAVR-S2SAS-ASLBADDS

Dru

g Court

News & Reports

A Great Loss Leads to an Exciting Additionby Anne Hazeltine, SASSI Treasurer

A Great LossGlenn A. Miller, Ph.D. founded The SASSI Institute in 1988 after attaining his goal of developing an efficient, cost-effective, easy-to-administer, and empirically validated

screening tool. The SASSI assists those in the field who work to help individuals and families with substance use disorders. On July 30, 2013, Dr. Miller died. We at SASSI not only lost a leader, but we also lost a friend. Glenn personified the SASSI mission: help-ing people who suffer from alcohol and other drug problems and the professionals who serve them. At the United Way kick-off luncheon that fall, we learned Glenn had met with the executive director of a local non-profit just days before he died. They discussed research

data collection and charitable work, in a continuation of that mission. By that time, his body had been much weakened from cancer treatments, but his spirit and dedication had not. That was classic Glenn: always in search of a way to do more for those affected by addiction.

We who work here continue to be inspired by Glenn every day as we arrive at the beau-tiful setting in Southern Indiana that SASSI calls home. And while we may never stop missing him, we will all strive to carry on his legacy.Leads to an Exciting Addition One of the most important aspects of carrying on Dr. Miller’s legacy was to find a new leader. We are excited to have Nelson J. Tiburcio, Ph.D. join us as our new Chief Oper-

ating Officer. Dr. Tiburcio is a highly energetic, passionate leader who has accrued a wide range of experience over the past 25 years. He has been involved in areas of substance abuse, HIV/HCV expo-sure, prevention, prophylaxis and treatment, mental illness, co-occurring disorders, and drug & alcohol addiction treatment program planning, research, evaluation and outcome studies. One of his early passions has been evaluating / implementing successful drug treatment paradigms within inner city communities. His strong

substance abuse background, supervision experience, and scholarship have prepared Dr. Tiburcio to meet the challenges we face.

The SASSI Institute www.sassi.comThe SASSI Institute www.sassi.com

Glenn Miller, Ph.D.

Nelson Tiburcio, Ph.D.

Continued on page 2

A Great Loss Leads to an Exciting Addition......................1-2

Screening Issues in Public Assistance....................................2

In Memoriam, Mary O’Neill..........2

Administer the Spanish SASSI Online.........................................3

An Introduction from Dr. Tiburcio................................4

earlyearly INTERVENTION SAVES LIVESINTERVENTION SAVES LIVES

Volume 16, Number 1, 2015

4

In this Issue:

An Introductionby Nelson Tiburcio, Ph.D.

Dear SASSI Colleagues,

Please allow me to introduce myself; my name is Dr. Nelson Jose Tiburcio. I am a Latino drug and alcohol researcher, origi-nally from New York City. My academic degree is in Criminal Justice from the Graduate Center of New York and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. My training and expertise have been in the areas of substance use and abuse, sustained opioid recovery, public health, HIV/HCV prevention and treatment, community reentry, recidivism, cultural competence and health literacy in major urban areas. During a period of over twenty years, I have led, directed and/or collaborated on studies investi-gating the various initiates and public health consequences of illicit drug use, mostly heroin and prescription opioids but including cocaine, crack and other drugs among them.

Common consequences resulting from the difficulty of sustaining abstinence are high relapse rates, and for many individuals, cycling in and out of prisons, detoxes, rehabs, therapeutic communities and then “back out there” into active use. Once released from these institutional environments, additional consequences include overdose risk, and of course exposure to HIV and HCV. These risks affect not only the individuals themselves, but their families, friends and loved ones as well. I also noticed that very few managed to avoid these patterns. For many re-entering their communities from jails, prisons and other institutional settings, the prospect of re-entering conventional society was compromised by the fact that they were still unprepared to mitigate the risks that led to their substance abuse and/or incarceration. These difficulties appeared to be the driving force behind their relapse and recidivism. As may very well be the experience for your own clients, for so many, it boiled down to their being unable to identify, accept and understand that they had a problem and importantly, that these drug-related problems are treatable.

The SASSI Institute and the work Dr. Glenn Miller founded provide significant synergies with my own life-works. The SASSI mission and dedication to supporting and responding to the needs of clinicians, justice professionals, researchers, and educa-tors who work with those affected by substance misuse closely matches my own passions and directions in the substance abuse field. My experiences with community-based and longitudinal research studies and clinical practice lending “voice” to the populace we serve have been instrumental towards achieving these objectives. This is especially true for those affected individuals who might be unsure or unaware of the detrimental effects of their continued substance use. In combination with other psychological measures, counseling and cooperative agreements and similar working relationships, our screening and counseling work can be used to help individuals identify and effect change in self-perception, with an ultimate goal of achiev-ing and maintaining a greater sense of self-respect and respect for others. This is the true SASSI mission, but of course we must be ever mindful and vigilant that the SASSI instruments not be used to discriminate against individuals, including disqualify-ing job applicants. It is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to eliminate a job applicant or to deny benefits based on SASSI scores, and that clearly is not its purpose. Practitioners must establish policies regarding the use of assessment instru-ments in their settings according to appropriate legal, ethical, and professional guidelines. More information on the SASSI Institute’s policy in this regard is available here: www.sassi.com/policy.

I am delighted to take on the position of Chief Operations Officer with the full knowledge and understanding that building on Glenn’s work is admittedly no easy task, but I do so wholeheartedly. These are ever changing times in this new electronic age, where so much of our work and communication is web-based. A clear upside is that our newly developed platforms present further opportunities for the SASSI Institute to facilitate the work you do. To that end, our clinical, training, research, informa-tion technology and customer service teams have made enormous strides to enable you to do so efficiently and effectively, including online, paper and computer administration of the SASSI screening inventories: the adult SASSI-3, adolescent SASSI-A2, Spanish SASSI and specialized screening instruments for persons who are Deaf, the SAS-ASL, and the SAVR-S2, customized to screen for substance use disorders in individuals with other disabilities. The SAS-ASL and the SAVR-S2 are available via the SASSI Scoring and Report Service (SRS). This platform allows administration of a paper questionnaire that is faxed back to SASSI for scoring and a report. More information about our existing platforms and instruments is available here: www.sassi.com/products, www.sassionline.com, www.sassi.com/srs.

In closing, I am confident that together with the SASSI staff, colleagues, clinicians and consultants our endeavors will help fulfill the mission which is at the core of the SASSI Institute: to provide the critically needed services and assistance to those suffering from substance use disorders and the professionals who serve them. I am elated to lead this mission and together, accomplish our common goals. As always, we welcome and look forward to your comments, suggestions, questions, and requests. Sincerely,

Nelson Jose Tiburcio, PhD