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Milestones



Through the Years:

Highlighting the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling’s key achievements!

1987
  • Secured legislation to provide funding from state gambling revenue to address problem gambling
  • Established Helpline for callers seeking help with gambling problems

1989
  • Secured legislation requiring posting of notices at all state gambling sites with the Council Helpline number

1994
  • Designed and implemented an annual professional education course, Understanding, Assessing and Treating Compulsive Gambling, offering 60 continuing education units (CEUs) toward certification as a compulsive gambling counselor

1995
  • Established and implemented a regional New England Conference on Problem Gambling – ongoing for eight years
  • Together with the Minnesota Council on Compulsive Gambling, Inc. and Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions, the Mass. Council sponsored a Think Tank on compulsive gambling entitled, North American Think Tank of Youth Gambling Issues: A Blueprint for Responsible Public Policy in the Management of Compulsive Gambling

1996
  • Developed The WAGER, a weekly gambling research publication in conjunction with Harvard Medical School / Division on Addictions

2000
  • Together with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, Division on Addictions, the Mass. Council sponsored a Think Tank on compulsive gambling entitled, State-Funded Gambling Treatment Programs

2002
  • Created guidebook, Your First Step to Change, for callers unable to utilize traditional self-help or treatment resources

2003
  • Developed evidence-based practice guidelines for clinicians treating compulsive gambling

2004
  • Held the 2004 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Towards Evidence-Based Treatment
  • Revamped Council Website
  • Developed Council’s first Annual Report
  • Governor Romney proclaimed Problem Gambling Awareness Week in Massachusetts

    2005


    • Held the 2005 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Gambling,Addiction and Society: Exploring the Relationships
    • Launched premier electronic newsletter, which was sent to 1,500 people
    • Conducted a statewide survey to measure public awareness and attitudes toward gambling disorders.

    2006

    • Held the 2006 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Community, Clinical and Personal Approaches
    • Recordednearly 100,000 visits to its website~an average of 265 visits per day
    • Introduced online registration forthe conference and trainings

    2007

    • Held the 2007 Massachusetts Conference on Gambling Problems: Fueling the Fire: Using Passion to Ignite Change in Gambling Behavior
    • Launched its Prevention Initiative
    • Participated in the Congressional Forum on Gambling: Critical Issues in Prevention and Public Awareness, which took place in Washington D.C.
    • Began offering the Massachusetts Problem Gambling Specialist (MA-PGS) Certificate
    • Launched a new website for parents of young adults www.financialfirststeps.org
    • Introduced its Asian Initiative and formedthe Asian OutreachCommittee

    2008

    • Developed and launched a Prevention Resource Library online
    • Unveiled a comprehensive prevention of problem gambling plan
    • Initiated an older adult peer-to-peer training
    • Translated the "Your First Step to Change" self-help guidebook into Chinese, Vietnamese and Khmer
    • Produced an informational video about problem gambling with subtitles in Chinese, Vietnamese and Khmer, to air on Sunshine Travel buses en route to Mohegan Sun Casino from 10 Massachusetts locations
    • Held the 2008 Conference on Gambling Problems entitled, “Gambling Disorders in the Commonwealth: Honoring Past Achievements, Recognizing Present Accomplishments, and Looking to the Future”
    • Hosted in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (DPH/BSAS), the Council conducted a series of Listening Sessions to help guide problem gambling services in Mass. Representatives from the problem gambling field met to gather feedback and data on best practices. Areas discussed included problem gambling treatment, prevention, and systems of care.
    • The first Thomas N. Cummings research fellowship was awarded in 2008 in conjunction with the Division on Addictions Cambridge Health Alliance, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School.

    2009

    • Celebrated the Council's 25th Anniversary Breakfast Gala and Awards Celebration.
    • Createda video entitled, The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling: a Compassionate Advocate.
    • Presented Bait and Hook: Problem Gambling in Older Adults.
    • Sponsored its first Recovery Coach Academy.
    • Launched an after-school program for middle-school students entitled, the Creative Activities for Probability and Statistics (CAPS) Program.
    • Built the capacity of 137 multi-cultural / multi-lingual problem gambling treatment providers in the Commonwealth.
    • Convened the first meeting of the Massachusetts Partnership for Responsible Gambling.
    2010
    • Launched “live chat” feature on the Council website.
    • Formed Teens about Gambling (TAG), a teen peer-led approach to educating peers about gambling issues.
    • Participated in the Tufts Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service Active Citizenship Summer Fellowship program.
    • Received a grant from Consumer Action to offer Money Management 101 workshops to the five active Department of Public Health’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services’ Recovery Centers.
    2011
    • Hosted the 25th National Conference on Problem Gambling, the oldest and largest conference on problem gambling in the world.
    • Received the Peer Provider Award from the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, which is given to an agency that has “gone that extra mile to serve their clients and consumers and are worthy of recognition by their peers.”
    • Won the National Council on Problem Gambling’ Newsletter Award, “given annually to an outstanding problem gambling-related newsletter in the past year.”
    • Awarded Kathy Scanlan the National Council on Problem Gambling’s 2011 Herman Goldman Award for Advocacy.

    Other Mass. Council Milestones

    • The Mass. Council has advocated for treatment for problem gamblers that has resulted in a progression of treatment availability in Massachusetts from one site in 1987 to three sites in 1995 to 17 sites in 1998 to the development and implementation of a plan that will lead to the integration of gambling treatment throughout the substance abuse delivery system.

    • Since 1987, the Council has answered37,673 calls and referred more than32,739 people to treatment services.

    • Over the years, the Massachusetts council on Compulsive Gambling has produced and distributed materials targeted to special populations including youth,college, older-adult,Latino, African American, and Asian communities.

    • Over the past 29 years, the Mass. Council has generated and contributed tomore than 1,948media stories on problem gambling.