Palladia, Inc. has been selected to implement a groundbreaking national demonstration, CASAWORKSSM for Families, designed to help drug and alcohol-addicted mothers, the most neglected segment of the welfare population and the hardest to move into the workforce, achieve self-sufficiency.

CASAWORKSSM for Families is an experimental service intervention and research program of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA). Palladia has a three-year grant from New York City’s Human Resources Administration to implement the demonstration at its two Comprehensive Treatment Institute sites -- one in East Harlem, and one in The Bronx.

The innovative program model promotes independent living and employment. Each participant spends seven hours each day in treatment/training, five days a week, for one year. Outpatient substance abuse treatment is combined with employment services, job training, mental health support, parenting skills, and intensive case management. On completion, women seek to achieve recovery, employment and quality parenting.

All aspects of a participant’s treatment prepare her for employment. The women have intensive case management and at the same time learn job-related skills: punctuality, how to arrange for childcare, how to maintain standards of professional responsibility, etc.

The Treatment Research Institute (TRI) at the University of Pennsylvania conducts research and evaluation for CASAWORKSSM for Families.