TI Initiatives

The TI currently manages and operates four large-scale training and technical assistance initiatives. Services provided by each project are described in more detail below. 

Northeast and Caribbean Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NeC-ATTC)

Current Term: September 30, 2017 through September 29, 2022

Funder: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)



The Northeast and Caribbean Addiction Technology Transfer Center (NeC-ATTC) serves New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (HHS Region II), operating through a partnership between the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI) Division on Substance Use Disorders at Columbia University, and the Institute of Research, Education, and Services in Addiction (IRESA) at the Universidad Central Del Caribe (UCC), School of Medicine in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. NeC-ATTC staff provide innovative training and technical assistance (TTA) to the Region 2 behavioral health treatment and recovery support workforce in a variety of service settings including but not limited to substance use treatment programs, mental health treatment programs, primary care, criminal justice, HIV organizations, and other community-based support services. TTA initiatives focus on a variety of topics related to the adoption and implementation of evidence-based and promising practices for the treatment of substance use disorders: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT); Motivational Interviewing (MI); Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC); Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT); Trauma Informed Care; Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT); Integrated Care (i.e. the integration of mental health and substance suse services as well as the integration of behavioral health and primary care services); HIV/HCV prevention, testing and treatment; clinical supervision; cultural competence; treatment planning; and much more. TTA is provided through a number of mediums including face-to-face workshops, webinars, self-paced e-learning products, and interactive learning communities conducted live via video-conferencing.

For more information on upcoming ATTC events and other archived products visit our regional website at: https://attcnetwork.org/centers/northeast-caribbean-attc/home

If you have any questions regarding ATTC services or your organization is interested in receiving training or technical assistance through the ATTC, please contact the Director, Michael Chaple, Ph.D. by email at: michael.chaple@nyspi.columbia.edu

Opioid Response Network (ORN); STR-TA for HHS Region 2

Current Term: February 1, 2018 through January 31, 2021

Funder: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The Opioid Response Network (ORN), led by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry and a large coalition of national professional organizations, was created to provide education and training at a local level to promote evidence-based practices in the prevention, treatment and recovery of opioid use disorders. Using the ATTC network regional infrastructure, TI staff responds to individual technical assistance requests for capacity building in New Jersey and New York, providing educational resources, local training, consultation and intensive technical assistance free of charge to address community level needs pertaining to this health crisis. 

For more information about ORN please visit: https://opioidresponsenetwork.org/ and click on “submit a request” if you’d like to receive technical assistance from ORN. 

Training and Practice Implementation Institute (TPII)

Current Term: July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2025

Funder: New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH)

Opioid overdose deaths have reached epidemic levels in New York City. In addition to pharmacological interventions, such as naloxone to reverse overdoses and medication assisted treatment for opioid dependence, the NYC DOHMH seeks to increase the implementation of Motivational Interviewing (MI), an evidence-based practice used to address substance use disorders (SUDs) and the opioid epidemic. Health professionals who wish to use specific EBPs often do not have the funds necessary to support training and supervision needed to effectively implement an EBP such as MI. Funded originally as part of the Mayor’s initiative (Healing NYC) to address the opioid overdose crisis and improve opioid related health outcomes in NYC, the NYC DOHMH has partnered with NYSPI’s TI to establish and manage the Training and Practice Implementation Institute (TPII). The TPII provides a unique opportunity for OASAS-licensed 822 (Opioid and Outpatient Treatment) Programs located in the five boroughs of NYC to receive (at no cost) extensive training and intensive implementation support to build towards sustained integration of the EBP of MI. TPII enrolls approximately thirty programs annually, with the new enrollment period extending from July 1st – September 15th of each calendar year. This intensive TA program has two phases. The implementation phase is one year long, providing enrolled programs with: (a) the foundational training necessary to learn the essential skills of MI; and (b) a series of ongoing and longitudinal supports that help programs and their staff to implement and refine their MI skills via structured practice opportunities that include on-site team meetings twice monthly, individual coaching for supervisors and staff, feedback on audio-recordings of counseling sessions, and once monthly facilitated learning communities that promote both peer-to-peer exchange and expert feedback from TPII Program Managers. Upon completion of this implementation phase, programs shift to the sustainability phase, implementing activities that are identified collaboratively by program staff, with ongoing access to TPII services. 

If you have any questions regarding TPII services or your organization is interested in enrolling in the next TPII Cohort (July 1 – September 15, annually), please contact the Director, Michael Chaple, Ph.D. by email at: michael.chaple@nyspi.columbia.edu

Northeast and Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center (NeC-PTTC)

Current Term: September 30, 2018 through September 29, 2023

Funder: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

The Northeast & Caribbean Prevention Technology Transfer Center (Northeast & Caribbean PTTC) is managed by the Rutgers Center for Prevention Science and serves HHS Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Its purpose is to strengthen the substance abuse prevention workforce through technology transfer activities, including the delivery of multifaceted training and technical assistance to improve knowledge and skills in prevention science and evidence-based prevention practices. The NeC-PTTC model includes federal, state, and local planning and capacity building; state-of-the-art training and technical assistance services; and prevention technology resources. NYSPI’s TI is subcontracted by the Rutgers Center for Prevention Science to assist primarily with training and technical assistance initiatives geared toward secondary (i.e. interventions that focus on specific demographic groups that pose higher risk for substance use and misuse such as SBIRT) and tertiary (i.e. interventions indicated to prevent heavy or chronic use for individuals who are already using or engaged in other high-risk behaviors such as Naloxone and PDMPs) prevention.  

For more information on upcoming PTTC events and other archived products visit our regional website at: https://pttcnetwork.org/centers/northeast-caribbean-pttc/home

If you have any questions regarding PTTC services or your organization is interested in receiving training or technical assistance through the PTTC, please contact the Co-Director, Michael Chaple, Ph.D. by email at: michael.chaple@nyspi.columbia.edu