The CASA name will be all over a trio of projects aimed at improving treatment and recovery and funded with a mix of public and private money.

The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) will use $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to create CASACCARE -- CASA Chronic Care Approaches to Recovery -- in partnership with with New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. CASACCARE's goal is to see addiction treated as a chronic disorder similar to asthma or hypertension. "We believe if you manage this disease in the same way we manage other chronic illnesses, patients can maintain sobriety and save state taxpayer health care dollars," said CASA chairman Joseph A. Califano Jr.

CASAHOPE -- Housing Opportunities Program Evaluation -- is funded with $1.6 million from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and will evaluate "Housing First," a supportive housing project for chronically homeless and addicted individuals.

NIDA also provided $2.3 million to expand CASASARD -- Substance Abuse Research Demonstration, which studies case-management services for addicted women seeking welfare in New Jersey. The latest funding will support a comprehensive cost analysis of the program.