Identifying and Responding to Emerging Drug Trends
Part 2: How to Determine Priorities
Josh Esrick, MPP, and Lauren Pappacena, MSW

June 30, 2021, 1-2:30 PM EST

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This webinar will discuss the importance of prevention professionals conducting needs assessments to determine and prioritize the emerging trends specific to their service areas. It will provide an overview of topics such as: identifying potential data sources, overcoming barriers to accessing or using data, collecting original data, and identifying and prioritizing trends. The webinar will also discuss the next steps in responding to emerging trends, and the need to ensure that prevention organizations remain focused on addressing the root causes of substance use.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Review the importance of conducting a needs assessment
• Describe how to conduct a needs assessment and overcoming assessment challenges
• Summarize how to prioritize emerging trends
• Overview the steps to addressing identified emerging trends

PRESENTERS

Josh Esrick, MPP is a Senior Policy Analyst with Carnevale Associates. Josh has extensive experience in substance use prevention; researching, writing, and presenting on best practice and knowledge development publications, briefs, and reference guides; and developing and providing T/TA to numerous organizations. He developed numerous SAMHSA Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies’ (CAPT) products on strategies to prevent opioid misuse and overdose, risk and protective factors for substance use, youth substance use prevention strategies, youth substance use trends, emerging substance use trends, the potential regulations surrounding marijuana legalization, as well as numerous other topics.
Lauren Pappacena, MSW is a Research Associate with Carnevale Associates. Lauren has a background in criminal justice and juvenile justice research specifically as it relates to evidence-based programs and practices spanning criminal justice topics, including corrections, law enforcement, reentry, and courts. Currently, she assists with training evaluations for NADCP and the PTTC, where she brings her experience with quantitative and qualitative analysis and data visualization. With a strong interest in policy analysis, research translation, data collection, and analytic writing, Ms. Pappacena is published in the Journal of Human Rights and Social Work for her analysis of national early-release laws.