The UNBC Task Force on Substance Abuse is one of five task forces across Canada. All together, the five task forces form the National Consortium of Centres of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs.

The goal of the Centres of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs is deceptively straightforward: to make a real difference in the lives of children and adolescents with special needs living in Canada. Three objectives are associated with this goal: to improve accessibility to useful information and services, to improve access to appropriate service delivery, and to augment community capacity to influence policy.

The Centres of Excellence have defined special needs children as encompassing 'all children and adolescents who require additional public or private resources beyond those normally required to support healthy development'.

The task force on Special Needs in Substance Abuse (UNBC's task force) is dedicated to researching substance abuse in rural, remote and northern communities. Beginning with the premise that hinterland populations often experience marginalization because of their locale, the UNBC site of the Centre of Excellence is dedicated to researching and addressing availability, accessibility and quality of services for children and youth with special needs, specifically substance abuse issues. Operating from the University of Northern British Columbia, but actively networking and partnering with community organizations, the objectives of the Substance Abuse Task Force are comprehensive. They include analyzing historical, social, cultural and economic determinants of substance abuse, developing and promoting existing educational strategies related to substance abuse, researching and describing current services and resources available, and identifying and defining substance abuse issues in rural, remote and northern communities. A number of activities are planned around these objectives, including the creation of networks with diverse communities and groups involved in substance abuse issues, the analysis and assessment of current service and program delivery models, and the dissemination of information and resources.

At present, two researchers are working towards the Centre's short-term and long-term goals. Margo Greenwood, from the Education Department, is the Task Force Director and Dave Walraven is the Site Coordinator. The office is currently located in the Adminstration Building of the University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way . Our phone number is 960-5806, and we can be reached by e-mail at special@unbc.ca.

Financial contribution from the Centres of Excellence for Children's Well-Being Program, Public Health Agency of Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the official policy of Public Health Agency of Canada.