The NIAAA Cooperative Agreement Program for Homeless Persons with Alcohol and Other Drug Problems

Alcohol and other drug abuse represent the most predominant public health problem facing the nation's growing homeless population. Few treatment services are available for homeless persons with alcohol or other drug abuse problems, and little is known about the effectiveness of these services. In 1990, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) launched a three-year, four-teen-project research demonstration program to develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of treatment interventions for this target population. This article describes the background goals, and structure of the NIAAA Cooperative Agreement Program.