In a move to promote adoption of culturally legitimate evidence-based addictions treatment and recovery services to American Indians and Alaska Natives throughout the United States, the University of Iowa College of Public Health has established the National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center (N AI & AN ATTC).

Anne Helene Skinstad, clinical associate professor of community and behavioral health in the College of Public Health and director of the N AI & AN ATTC, received the five-year, $3.375 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment to fund the center.

The activities of the center will also include providing workforce development and technical assistance support to professionals working with American Indian and Alaska Native clients with substance use and other behavioral health disorders.

“Support for the National American Indian and Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center marks a major milestone in mobilizing the best addictions treatment for a population facing disproportionately high rates of substance abuse,” says Skinstad. “This center will help fill a huge need for culturally appropriate addiction services for American Indian and Alaska Natives.”

“The historical, political, cultural, and infrastructural contexts for substance abuse services for American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unique,” continues Skinstad. “Our goal is to work in collaboration with knowledgeable researchers, our own national advisory council, American Indian and Alaska Native behavioral health counselors, and others to expand behavioral health capacity in urban Indian and tribal behavioral health clinics.”

The N AI & AN ATTC is one of four new national focus area centers in SAMHSA’s ATTC network, joining the National Frontier and Rural ATTC, National Hispanic and Latino ATTC, and National Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment ATTC. For additional information on these and other regional centers, visit the ATTC Network website .