Institute for Translational Research Education in Adolescent Drug Abuse (ITRE)

Annual Conference

Each year in March, the Institute partners with the annual National Research and Policy Conference on Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Behavioral Health, sponsored by the Department of Child & Family Studies (CFS) at the USF College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. The Institute's portion of the conference agenda takes place on the first day of the conference and continues throughout the duration of the conference. The Institute conference track focuses on skills and methodologies of translational research. Content experts and national mentors are invited to present on core content areas of the proposed curricula. Persons and institutions nationally who are involved in innovative translational research in the areas of adolescent drug abuse and mental health are also invited to present and participate on panel discussions which highlight current trends and outcomes in clinical and services research. Institute scholars present their Service Learning Projects during the annual conference in their fourth semester.

About the Conference

In 1988, the CFS initiated their first national conference for expanding the research base on children's mental health. Since then, the conference has annually convened more than 600 participants per year to share new knowledge and research on important issues for all children with serious emotional or behavioral problems and their families. The conference has highlighted significant accomplishments in the field and has been able to introduce new frameworks, conceptual models, and methodological approaches to the field of children's mental health. New information from community, state, and national-level investigations is shared on what it takes to translate the science of systems of care so the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and their families can be met within their home, school, and community environments.