OPENING PLENARY SESSION - National Policy Initiatives - Treating People with Dignity

TIME: 8:45 AM - 10:15 AM

Speakers:
Terry L. Willis, MS, Conference Chair, Chief Executive Officer, Georgia Therapy Associates, Inc.
Minister DeBorah M. Evans, Atlanta, GA
Neil Kaltenecker, Director, Department of Human Resources Division of Mental Health Developmental Disabilities and Addictive Diseases
Honorable Randall Mangham, Representative, Georgia State Legislature
Mark W. Parrino, MPA, President, American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, Inc.
Honorable John P. Walters, Director, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

The opening plenary introduces the theme of the 2006 national conference, "Treating People with Dignity - Working with Criminal Justice and Health Care Systems." Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) has long been recognized as the most successful models for treating opioid addiction in the United States. A key element of national, state and local drug strategies, MAT seeks to assure delivery of treatment that is appropriate, effective and compassionate. The session's distinguished panel will welcome participants to Atlanta, and will discuss initiatives in Georgia, the southern region, and the nation to increase access to opioid treatment, improve treatment and prevention systems, and expand collaboration with criminal justice and health systems in drug demand and reduction efforts. The nation's "Drug Czar," presidential cabinet member John P. Walters, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, provides the Keynote address.

MIDDLE PLENARY SESSION - Medication Assisted Treatment & The Criminal Justice System

TIME: 8:45 AM - 10:15 AM

Moderator:
Paul Samuels, Esq., President and Executive Director, Legal Action Center

Speakers:
Timothy Ryan, Chief of Corrections, Orange County, Florida
Honorable Martin Horn, Commissioner, New York City Department of Corrections
Honorable Paul Howard, Fulton County District Attorney, Fulton
County District Attorney's Office

For decades, drug treatment and criminal justice were perceived to be at opposite ends of the national and local drug policy spectrum. Moderated by Paul Samuels, Esq., President and Executive Director of the nationally renowned Legal Action Center, this plenary session will highlight the emerging and ground-breaking partnership between medication assisted treatment (MAT) and criminal justice systems, moving closer together in purpose and mission to improve service delivery. The expert panel will present exciting initiatives that have increased access to methadone treatment in jails and enhanced education and information flow to drug court judges and administrators. Legal, ideological and funding impediments to MAT access in criminal justice settings will be explored, and innovative models developed and undertaken in several States will be shared.

CLOSING PLENARY SESSION - Continued Successes and Future Challenges

TIME: 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM

Speakers:
Terry L. Willis, MS, Conference Chair, Chief Executive Officer, Georgia Therapy Associates, Inc.

Mark W. Parrino, MPA, President, American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, Inc.

David Satcher, MD, President, Morehouse School of Medicine
(Former U.S. Surgeon General)

General Barry R. McCaffrey, President of B.R. McCaffrey Associates, LLC.
( Former Director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy)

Over the past decade, several national figures have emerged promoting the important role of evidence-based, holistic medication assisted treatment (MAT) in our national drug policy. Former United States Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., President of the Morehouse School of Medicine and Retired Four-Star General Barry R. McCaffrey, former Director of the White House Office of National Drug Policy, are among these leading voices. Patient progress viewed daily, and positive outcomes of MAT documented in 40 years of research, serve as ongoing inspirational sources for providers and patients in commitment to their work. In the closing plenary session, Dr. Satcher and General McCaffrey will provide a unique view to the science of addictive disease, the importance of holistically treating the "addict as patient," and knowledge of MAT's important contribution to the public health, now and in the years to come.

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