Cook Inlet Tribal Council announces the creation of the new Interdisciplinary Department to treat client needs under one area. For example, this more holistic approach will assist clients with both substance abuse and child welfare. The program intends to better meet the complex needs of the individuals and families Cook Inlet Tribal Council serves. The Interdisciplinary Department has several new programs: Partners for Recovery, Families First Treatment Program, and the Cook Inlet Region Wellness Program that includes a mobile treatment unit and village-based services.

Partners for Recovery
Partners for Recovery is a uniquely designed program that uses a thorough approach to meeting the needs and filling the gaps of services for Alaska Natives seeking substance abuse treatment. A Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant aids the collaborative efforts of Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Southcentral Foundation, Ernie Turner Center, and other CIRI regional non-profits.

Included in Partners for Recovery is a centralized assessment center to provide services for Alaska Natives in the Anchorage community who are in need of substance abuse treatment. The assessment center will include assessments, pre-treatment case management, transportation, and referrals to the most appropriate treatment option. For more information, please contact (907) 265-7917.

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Mobile Treatment Unit
The Mobile Treatment Unit is part of the Alaska Federation of Natives-funded Cook Inlet Region Wellness Program. The unit provides a home-based approach to substance abuse treatment for a hard-to-reach population. This project targets Alaska Native women with children under the supervision or in custody of Alaska Division of Family and Youth Services in Anchorage. The mobile treatment unit brings services into the client's home, such as parenting education and substance abuse case management, instead of bringing clients in for residential treatment which could result in the placement of the client's children in foster care.

The mobile treatment unit is staffed with teams consisting of a mental health specialist, care coordinators, a developmental specialist, and a continuing care counselor. In addition to home-based substance abuse treatment, clients will engage in case management services and referrals to allied services, parenting classes, education, and social skills building, mental health therapy groups and individual counseling sessions, office-based services, and groups. For further information, please contact Jane Garrow at (907) 265-5980 or Chastity Dovell at (907) 265-7917.

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Families First
Families First is the newest addition to the Interdisciplinary Department. Families First will assist in ending the cycles of substance abuse and child abuse/neglect to build "healthy homes" where children are protected and cherished and families incorporate traditional ways. Like the mobile treatment unit, this program will implement the model mobile treatment unit framework of home-based substance abuse treatment for Alaska Native women with children under DFYS supervision. The Families First treatment teams and services will match the Mobile Treatment Unit. For further information, please contact Cook Inlet Tribal Council at
(907) 265-5900.

For more information about the Interdisciplinary Department, contact director Deborah Wing at (907) 265-7933.

This summer Southcentral Foundation's RAISE Program is offering free tutoring to children in kindergarten through fifth grade at Southcentral Foundation's Head Start building located at 1818 West Northern Lights Boulevard. Children are tutored in reading and math two times each week. While a certified teacher is on site, this program uses a "youth tutoring youth" teaching format with teenagers providing the classroom activities. For more information and an application packet, call the Southcentral Foundation RAISE program office in Anchorage at (907) 729-5015. Space is limited, so call early.

The RAISE Program is also calling for auditions for its second annual, community-wide talent show to be held on Aug. 15, 2002. Alaska Natives between the ages of 13 and 21 with a special talent or skill, such as singing, dancing or playing a musical instrument, should contact the Southcentral Foundation RAISE program office at (907) 729-5015 to sign up. Auditions are by appointment only. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three contestants.

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