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Operation PAR
Mission:
To strengthen our communities by caring for families and individuals impacted by substance abuse and mental illness.
Vision:
Operation PAR, a beacon of hope in our communities - helping people be aware, be responsible, be healthy and be happy.
Located in West Central Florida - Serving more than 13,000 individuals a year in intervention and treatment services. Another 40,000 participants are impacted annually by the agency's messages of substance abuse awareness, education, prevention, research and information and referral. Additionally, the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center (PJAC) admits more than 7,500 juveniles a year. Operation PAR receives accreditation from the Joint Commission and Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and ASSET Accreditation from the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) of Pinellas County regarding its JWB funded programs.
WHAT WORKS IN DRUG TREATMENT: OPERATION PAR
Operation PAR (Parental Awareness and Responsibility), serving four Florida counties, got its start in 1970 in the way many effective programs do - a parent concerned about her daughter's drug use took action.
Operation PAR has earned national attention for its prevention services and comprehensive behavioral health care services that rebuild families shattered by substance abuse and mental health disorders. On March 27, 2003, the Minority Issues Committee of the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA) selected Operation PAR as Organization of the Year for its "tangible community education and outreach efforts within the minority community." The award was presented in Tampa during the Multicultural Symposium. Most recently, Operation PAR is featured in the March 2004 National Drug Control Strategy released by the White House, which hails Operation PAR as a key contributor in effective drug treatment for women and children at PAR Village. The agency's Family Support Network treatment model (FSN), a component used in family therapy, earned the Grand Prize for Treatment Programs in the First Annual Substance Abuse Services Best Practice Awards Program in August 2001. The Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA) and the Department of Children and Families (DCF) Substance Abuse Program sponsor the award.
Company History:
Operation PAR, Inc. began after a mother discovered her teenage daughter experimenting with drugs. This mother, Shirley Coletti, sat up all night and worried with her friend and neighbor, James T. Russell, who was then Pinellas County's State Attorney. Shirley Coletti discovered that there was no place for parents like her to get help. So, with the assistance of several parent advocates, Pinellas County Sheriff Don Genung, State Attorney Russell and former Pinellas County Commissioner Charles Rainey, Operation Parental Awareness and Responsibility was founded, an organization that would provide parents the necessary resources to battle drug addiction.
Operation PAR has been putting Florida's families first for more than 34 years since incorporating as a nonprofit organization in 1970. Prior to receiving federal funding, Operation PAR provided treatment services with a volunteer staff of paraprofessionals and professionals. Today, staffed with more than 533 employees, Operation PAR provides integrated addiction and mental health services at its various sites in Pinellas, Pasco, Lee and Manatee counties. Operation PAR's current Board of Directors includes volunteers representing a broad spectrum of the community. These include health care professionals, business people, educators, lawyers, bankers, realtors and others. Many are community activists who serve on other boards in the Tampa Bay region, working with foundations, civic groups and service agencies. Currently, the agency has more than 45 contracts with various local, state and federal agencies and is nationally respected for its excellence and reputation for bringing research to practice. Operation PAR is well known on a national and international basis for its research initiatives funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Operation PAR collaborates with University of South Florida - College of Public Health, The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. Additionally, PAR has conducted behavioral clinical trials such as CSAT's Cannabis Youth Treatment Study (CYT). Current research projects include the following:
- Targeted Capacity Expansion: Family Support Network Enhancement of Juvenile Outpatient Program (FSN JOP) in Partnership with Pinellas County;
- Targeted Capacity Expansion Drug Court Program: African American Center of Excellence (AACE) in Partnership with Pinellas County Adult Drug Court and Hillsborough County Adult Drug Court;
- Targeted Capacity Expansion Effective Adolescent Treatment: PAR Adolescent Recovery Intervention Services (PARIS) in Partnership with the Office of the State Attorney, Sixth Judicial Circuit and Boley Centers for Behavioral Health Care, Inc.;
- Florida Node of the NIDA Clinical Trial Network (CTN)
Operation PAR
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