FASD NPN Spotlight: The University of Texas at Austin

FASD United is excited to continue spotlighting each CDC National Partner Network organization. The National Partner Network (NPN) is a collaborative coalition of organizations dedicated to advancing key goals, including reducing prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and substance use, enhancing support services and access to care, and improving the identification and health of children and families affected by FASDs (CDC, 2023). As a proud participant in this collaborative effort from 2022 to 2026, we are excited to contribute to public education on FASD and prenatal substance exposure alongside these exceptional partners.

As we close out May, we are proud to feature the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute at The University of Texas at Austin and their team who collaborated on these responses, Anna Magnum, MPH, MSW, Senior Health Strategist, Kirk von Sternberg PhD, Co-Director of HBRT, and Diana Ling, MA, Program Manager. They begin with what they are most proud of their organization for:

“Since its inception over 20 years ago, the Health Behavior Research and Training Institute (HBRT) at The University of Texas at Austin Steve Hicks School of Social Work has been a leader developing and implementing evidence-based interventions to effectively screen for and prevent substance use disorders (SUDs). HBRT has played a crucial role in building and sustaining a national healthcare workforce of social workers, physicians, nurses, and other professionals who are skilled in deploying modalities such as Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), and motivational interviewing. The Institute is especially proud of its decade-long partnership with the National Association of Social Workers to address risky drinking among women and prevent prenatal alcohol and other substance use.“

The team then explains how they are helping move the FASD field forward and important collaborations:

“In collaboration with the National Association of Social Workers, we are excited to grow our community of social workers who are champions in preventing FASD. Our champions have been trained in how to use motivational interviewing and SBIRT to address prenatal alcohol use and FASDs, and we have also created a standardized presentation that they can share in a professional setting. We are also inviting social workers from our partner hospitals within Texas to join our champions network.“

To express the value this group gets from CDC’s National Partner Network they explain:

“Public health and prevention is definitely a team effort! We especially value the NPN as a mechanism for exchanging ideas and best practices between workforce organizations, patient advocacy organizations and the research community.“

To learn more about their resources and what they do, the team suggests their NASW Social Work podcast episode, which can be viewed by clicking here.

FASD United is dedicated to creating a more just, FASD-informed world while promoting collaboration across different entities. It is our pleasure to highlight CDC partner organizations that share this goal.

*This project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.