We are joined by Dr. Carmen Morano of UAlbany's School of Social Welfare and Dr. Tomoko Udo of UAlbany's School of Public Health. Both Dr. Morano and Dr. Udo are involved as researchers in a new Albany County pilot program, Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting (ACCORD). The program teams up social workers and paramedics to provide assistance in emergencies where a law enforcement presence is not necessary.
Bios:
Dr. Carmen Morano is a Professor and Doctoral Program Director at the School of Social Welfare. In addition to being a John A. Hartford Faculty Scholar, Carmen has served as Member and Chair of the HRSA Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary Community Based Linkages and as the Managing Editor of The Journal of Gerontological Social Work. Carmen’s research focuses primarily in the areas of Gerontology and Interprofessional Collaboration and Education. He is the PI for several community-based program evaluation projects in Dementia caregiver programming, a multidisciplinary team response to Elder Abuse, and a number of community-based transitional care coordination programs targeting high risk adults. Carmen recently served as Co-Investigator for the Geriatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. Along with Dr. Tomoko Udo, Carmen is evaluating the Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting Program (ACCORD). Dr. Morano frequently presents at national and international conferences and has been recognized for developing and providing interprofessional education and collaboration training. Dr. Morano’s edited text, Social Work Perspectives on Interprofessional Education and Collaboration is published by NASW Press.
Dr. Tomoko Udo is Associate Professor at Department of Health Policy, Management, and Behavior, School of Public Health. She has also been serving as a Health Policy Advisor for COVID for the University since Spring 2020. Her research focuses on identifying ways to improve health care for individuals with various behavioral health issues, including substance use disorder. Her work has been supported by funding agencies such as New York State Department of Health, CDC, NIDA, National Office of Drug Control Policy, and New York State Health Foundation. She also works as an evaluation consultant for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Along with Dr. Morano, she leads the project to evaluate the Albany County Crisis Officials Responding and Diverting program.
