STATE DEPARTMENT CONTRACT ANNOUNCEMENTBethesda, Md. — The U.S. Department of State has selected Development Services Group, Inc. (DSG), and its partner, the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center (TraCCC) at George Mason University, to build a counterterrorism annual reporting database and help the department prepare its annual Country Reports on Terrorism.
In fact, more Americans this year will die from a drug overdose than any other accidental death, including from a motor vehicle accident and gun homicide.
In 2016—the latest year for which data are available—64,070 people in the United States died from a drug overdose, two-thirds (42,249) of which involved opioids.
Sadly, these deaths are completely avoidable. Medications exist that, when taken in combination with counseling, can greatly reduce—even eliminate—opioid dependence and overdose risk for the more than 2 million Americans who are dependent on opioids.
Treating Opioid Addiction with Buprenorphine
DSG, beginning in 2015, has operated the DATA Waiver Processing and Support Program for SAMHSA. Our work includes
Buprenorphine (also known by the brand names Buprenex, Suboxone, and Subutex) is one used in medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence.
Unlike methadone, which must be administered in an approved clinic under close supervision, buprenorphine (in combination with naloxone) is safe enough for physicians to prescribe to patients to take on their own. As with other FDA-approved opioid-dependence medications, buprenorphine is most effective in combination with counseling, such as behavioral therapy.
The Buprenorphine Waiver Management Program
To prescribe buprenorphine, physicians must obtain a waiver from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Prior to the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) of 2000, to be able to prescribe buprenorphine, physicians would have to first register their practices as narcotic treatment programs—a process that is intensive and not always appropriate, depending on the nature of physicians’ practices.
The Buprenorphine Waiver Management Program Today
Are you looking for help with opioid dependence? SAMHSA maintains an online opioid treatment program directory.
For More Information About the Buprenorphine Waiver Management Program
Contact DSG Project Director Sean Meredith at 301.951.0056 or smeredith@dsgonline.com.
Partnering with the Identity Theft Resource Center, DSG project director and Senior Scientist Steve Gies, with grant funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice, is leading the first-ever national study on the effects and quality of services provided to victims of identity theft.
DSG is collaborating not he project with leading criminology researchers from the University of Texas at Dallas and ITRC staff to complete the mixed-methods study. In addition to client satisfaction, we’ll be exploring in this 3-year study how identity theft may result in social problems, mental health problems, physical health problems, and financial problems.
Since 2000, the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has been helping victims of identity theft recover their identities. The center also studies the issue and engages in activities to raise public awareness about identity theft. It is one of the few organizations that serves a nationally representative population of victims and maintains long-term relationships with its clients by conducting follow-up activities.
In addition to draining people’s bank accounts and maxing out their credit cards, thieves will use the stolen information to obtain loans and mortgages, apply for jobs, and file fraudulent tax returns and insurance claims. Criminals also use the stolen data to hack into organizations’ computer systems. They may even use the stolen data to commit blackmail or demand a ransom for its return.
Thieves are finding it easier and easier to pilfer people’s personal information. Criminals meet every firewall we put up with novel ways to get around them, but they still rely on the tried and true: pickpocketing, sifting through people’s garbage for, say, discarded bank statements, and tampering with bank ATMs. They also bait people into unwittingly handing over their personal information through online phishing and smishing (the use of text or SMS messaging) scams.
If you have been a victim of identity theft and are in need of services, please visit the website of the ITRC
For More Information About the Identity Theft Study
Contact DSG Senior Research Scientist Stephen Gies at 301.951.0056 or sgies@dsgonline.com
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Capacity Building
Unlike like many Federal contractors, DSG places a special emphasis on working directly with communities at the local level. Most of the national
grants programs we support involve teaching communities to develop strategic action plans to improve the lives of their children, youth, and families.
Some recent examples of our community planning and development work include the following:
