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New Orleans, LA — Welfare Reform — Special Topics — Home
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Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
Division of State and Community AssistanceState Team-Building WorkshopWyndham Riverfront Hotel,
New Orleans,Louisiana
August 6-7, 1997
State System Development Program
Continuous Quality Improvement Meeting
Speaker Biographies
Nolia Brandt, M.S.W., A.C.S.W., M.A., C.E.A.P.
Ms. Brandt is a senior management analyst with the Substance Abuse Program, Florida Department of Children and Families, in Tallahassee. She has been a clinician, planner, evaluator, trainer, analyst, program developer, employee assistance professional, and administrator in various human service organizations for over 20 years. Among her current responsibilities, Ms. Brandt coordinates funding and policy implementation for the Federal substance abuse block grant and serves as liaison to Federal agencies on other current issues, such as social security and welfare reform.
Ms. Brandt previously served as Program Administrator with the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, and as Case Management Project Director with the Development Services Program Office, Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.
Ms. Brandt has master of arts and master of social work degrees from Florida State University.
Ms. Feig is a social science analyst in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). She has worked for ASPE since 1989, analyzing policy issues regarding the provision of services to children, youth, and families. She specializes in issues regarding children and families affected by substance abuse and regarding child welfare services in general.
During the welfare reform debate she was responsible for HHS's analyses of proposals relating to substance abuse. In addition, she has directed several research projects regarding substance abuse among welfare recipients. These include an analysis of the prevalence of substance abuse among Aid to Families With Dependent Children recipients and a recent study examining substance abuse treatment outcomes for women receiving welfare.
Ms. Feig holds an undergraduate degree from Princeton University and a master's degree in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
As the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD), Mr. Gustafson represents the concerns of State alcohol and drug abuse agencies that administer over $3.7 billion in Federal, State, and local dollars.
In this role, Mr. Gustafson plays a lead role in the public policy process and is a proactive advocate for State alcohol and drug abuse programs before the White House, Federal agencies, Congress, national organizations, and the business community. He served as a member of the NASADAD Board of Directors for 15 years and was twice elected president of the Association. He became NASADAD's Executive Director in 1994.
Mr. Gustafson has a master of arts and a bachelor of arts from the State University of New York at Albany and is certified in the State of New York as a teacher.
Ms. Jacobs is the senior staff attorney at the Legal Action Center, a nonprofit law firm that specializes in legal and policy issues related to AIDS, drug and alcohol abuse, and criminal justice.
Ms. Jacobs is the leader of the Center's project on women and treatment and wrote a manual on the legal issues involved in treating pregnant addicted women. She participates in all areas of the Center's work on confidentiality issues relating to drug and alcohol treatment and has conducted numerous confidentiality training sessions in various States with respect to these issues. She also provides legal service to individuals and their families with HIV/AIDs that is associated with drug use and conduct training sessions in the confidentiality of HIV-specific information for substance abuse providers.
Ms. Jacobs professional experience includes having worked for Advocates for Children of New York, Inc., the Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Division, and the New York State Attorney General's Office. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Brooklyn Law School.
Ms. Jones serves as a program specialist with the Administration for Families and Children regional office in Dallas, Texas. Her primary focus is on Temporary Assistance to Needy Families and child care programs. Her previous experience includes a position with the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Chicago regional office and 20 years of service with the Indiana Department of Public Welfare.
Ms. Jones is a native of Arkansas. She holds undergraduate degrees in sociology and psychology from Henderson State University in Arkadelphi, Arkansas.
Ms. Kane is the Program Director for Welfare Reform at the Center for Best Practices of the National Governors' Association in Washington, D.C. Her primary focus is welfare reform implementation issues. Over the past 11 years, she has held a variety of policy, fiscal, and program management positions in human services, employment, and training at the State and local levels.
Prior to joining the National Governors' Association in 1996, Ms. Kane held several positions with the Department of Human Development (now Family Services) in Fairfax County, Virginia. This department has responsibility for public assistance, social services, homeless, refugee, and employment and training programs. She previously served as Manager of Research and Communication with the Houston Job Training Partnership Council (now Houston Works), where she coordinated implementation of several pilot projects for target populations and performed a variety of external-relations functions including liaison to the City Council and national organizations. Ms. Kane also worked in the California Legislative Analyst's Office, where she performed program and budget analysis of employment and welfare programs, including JTPA and GAIN. This work included reviewing the Governor's budget and legislative proposals, producing analyses for use by legislators and the public, and testifying before legislative committees on findings and recommendations.
Ms. Kane attended Smith College and received her bachelor's degree in government from Cornell University. She has a master's degree in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.
Ms. Karuntzos currently serves as a social research associate with Research Triangle Institute in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. She specializes in human resource development and is preparing a doctoral thesis validating a vocational screening instrument for hard-to-employ populations. During the past 5 years, she has served as project manager for a multisite randomized field trial evaluating the effectiveness of enhanced vocational services for methadone treatment clients, and as a project manager for an employee assistance program (EAP) study examining the impact of enhanced services on EAP utilization and workplace outcomes.
Ms. Karuntzos has a master's degree in human resource management from Loyola University in Chicago and a bachelor's degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Purdue University.
Ms. Rubinstein is Deputy Director of National Policy of the Legal Action Center. Since joining the Center in November 1994, she has specialized in policy research, analysis, and advocacy projects focusing on entitlement programs-specifically welfare, Social Security income, and Medicaid-and how reforms are likely to affect recipients who need drug or alcohol treatment and prevention services. She recently completed a policy paper on welfare and addiction, including an analysis of State decision making; this work was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Ms. Rubinstein has led training sessions on public policy and drug and alcohol issues for many national and State organizations, including the New Jersey Department of Human Services, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. She served as a legislative aide to Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources Chairman Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). She has also served as a public health policy analyst for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
She has a master's degree in public health from the University of Michigan and a bachelor of science in languages from Georgetown University.
Gale Saler, M.A., C.R.C.-M.A.C., C.A.S., C.P.C.
Ms. Saler currently serves as Deputy Director of Second Genesis, a private nonprofit substance abuse treatment agency in Bethesda, Maryland. She formerly served as Director of Program Planning and Development and as Director of Rehabilitation Programs at Second Genesis. Her other experience includes serving as a Rehabilitation Counselor IV at the Maryland Rehabilitation Center in Baltimore and as a legislative intern to Abraham Ribicoff, former U.S. Senator from Connecticut.
Ms. Saler received a master's degree in education from George Washington University and a bachelor of arts in psychology from American University.
Dr. Young-together with Sidney L. Gardner, M.P.A.-is the cofounder of Children and Family Futures, a California-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for children and families by providing technical assistance to government agencies, community-based organizations, and schools. Dr. Young and Mr. Gardner are the authors of Implementing Welfare Reform: Solutions to the Substance Abuse Problem (1997), published jointly by Drug Strategies and Children and Family Futures.
Dr. Young currently holds a position with California State University, Fullerton, School of Human Development and Community Service, and serves as a research consultant to the Directorate of the State of California, Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. She is also on the faculty of the University of Southern California School of Social Work. From 1993 to 1994, she held a position with the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Policy and Social Research, and served as academic coordinator and research consultant to the Directorate of the State of California, Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.
Dr. Young specialized in social policy issues affecting children of substance abusers during her doctoral studies at the University of Southern California School of Social Work.
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