Fellow
Patricia Strach is a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute and principal investigator on the Institute’s Stories from Sullivan project, which examines how opioid use affects local communities and what local communities are doing to address it. Strach is a professor in the Departments of Political Science and Public Administration & Policy at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany. Her research examines public policy and mass politics. She is the author of Hiding Politics in Plain Sight: Cause Marketing, Corporate Influence, and Breast Cancer Policymaking (Oxford 2016), All in the Family: The Private Roots of American Public Policy (Stanford 2007), and articles appearing in Political Research Quarterly, Journal of Policy History, Polity, and American Politics Research. In 2008-2010 she was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at Harvard University. Strach received her doctorate in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004.
Five Factors Cities Ought to Consider in Addressing the Rat Problem
October 24, 2023
The municipal trash problem more than a century ago offers lessons for today’s municipal rat problem: public problems can be addressed, and public officials can rely on five factors to do so. Continue Reading...
October 5, 2023
Rockefeller Institute of Government Director of Communications Joel Tirado sits down with authors Patricia Strach, professor of political science and public administration & policy at the University at Albany and a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute, and Kathleen Sullivan, associate professor of political science at Ohio University, to discuss their new book on the politics and history of municipal trash collection. Continue Reading...
What Drives Staffing Levels for Substance-Use Disorder (SUD) Services in New York State
November 29, 2021
With prior research demonstrating a severe national shortage in the substance-use disorder (SUD) workforce, this report presents the results of a workforce survey to better understand what drives staffing levels for SUD services in New York State. Continue Reading...
COVID-19 Doesn’t Respect Borders: A Conversation with Jaime Arredondo
May 6, 2021
The fourth interview in the "Epidemic in a Pandemic" series explores how COVID-19 affected drug use and treatment in Mexican cities along the USA-Mexico border. Continue Reading...
New York State’s Substance-Use Disorder Services During COVID-19
April 7, 2021
This report examines what happened to New York State’s substance-use disorder services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue Reading...
Learning from Lived Experience: A Conversation with Nabarun Dasgupta
March 16, 2021
This interview explores the effect of changes to federal regulations on methadone during the COVID-19 pandemic on patients in North Carolina and the importance of incorporating lived experience in drug policy research. Continue Reading...
Lessons from Ohio: A Conversation with Dan Skinner
February 25, 2021
An interview with Dan Skinner, an associate professor of health policy at Ohio University’s College of Medicine, about the opioid crisis in Ohio during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue Reading...
Putting Children First: A Conversation with Think Kids Executive Director Kelli Caseman
February 4, 2021
A look at how children and families experience the opioid epidemic, what happened to them during the pandemic, and the policies and programs that might best help them moving forward. Continue Reading...
Takeaways from Rockefeller Institute’s Webinar on the Opioid Epidemic during the COVID-19 Pandemic
January 13, 2021
This post highlights a few of the key observations by panelists from the Rockefeller Institute's webinar on the opioid crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue Reading...
Ep. 29. Epidemic in a Pandemic
September 23, 2020
Patricia Strach, Katie Zuber, and Elizabeth Pérez-Chiqués discuss what has happened to substance-use treatment access and effectiveness during COVID-19. Continue Reading...
Stress, Fear, Anxiety, and Addiction During COVID-19
July 16, 2020
This analysis examines the stress, fear, and anxiety affecting those impacted by the opioid epidemic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue Reading...
Addiction Doesn’t Take a Day Off: Substance-Use Services During COVID-19
July 1, 2020
This analysis examines the effects of three regulatory changes made in response to COVID-19 on the operations of substance-use service providers. Continue Reading...
What Do Local Governments Need to Address Public Health Crises?
April 16, 2020
In this analysis, we offer lessons from previous public health crises, including that prevention efforts are politically unpopular and cost money to maintain but ultimately save lives and resources in the long term. Continue Reading...
Judges on the Frontlines: What Courts and the Criminal Justice System Need to Know
October 18, 2019
The criminal justice system is an important part of the push to curb opioid use. As much as state court judges are doing to address opioids, however, they don’t always have easy access to the information they need to make decisions. Continue Reading...
October 3, 2019
This special edition of Policy Outsider was recorded live at a forum hosted by the Rockefeller Institute of Government and features distinguished scholar Robert J. Spitzer's presentation on gun policy. Continue Reading...
Have We Turned the Corner on Drug Overdose Deaths?
July 19, 2019
Earlier this week, provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that the number of drug overdose deaths declined by 5 percent – from more than 72,000 in 2017 to just under 68,000 in 2018. While the numbers suggest that the opioid crisis may be waning, it’s still too early to celebrate. Continue Reading...
June 25, 2019
We return to Sullivan County, New York, with our Stories from Sullivan researchers to hear directly from a group of people in recovery at Catholic Charities of Orange, Sullivan, and Ulster Counties. Continue Reading...
May 22, 2019
Contrary to the argument that stigma deters socially unacceptable behavior, it is evident from our research that stigma, in fact, kills. Even though opioids are changing the way we think and talk about addiction, stigma — or negative attitudes towards people with substance-use disorders that result in social devaluation and discrimination — has real human consequences. Continue Reading...
Five Myths of the Opioid Crisis
February 7, 2019
We consult both the research and the law to debunk five myths about opioid-related treatment in New York State. Continue Reading...
Seven Things That Everyone on the Frontlines of the Opioid Crisis Should Know
December 21, 2018
To combat the opioid crisis, we all need to be on the same page. The Rockefeller Institute has identified seven takeaways that everyone on the frontlines of the battle against opioid abuse should understand. Continue Reading...
November 21, 2018
Patricia Strach and Katie Zuber visit Dynamite Youth Center in Sullivan County, NY, to interview participants in the program as part of their study of the opioid epidemic. Continue Reading...
What’s Next in the Fight for Pay Equity?
October 30, 2018
Fifty-five years after Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, the gap between earnings for women and men has narrowed to 82 cents on the dollar. But it has not closed. If the past five-and-a-half decades have taught us anything, it’s that closing the gap won’t be easy and any solution we take will need to extend beyond government. Continue Reading...
October 3, 2018
People are knocking on doors for treatment only to be turned away. If we are serious in our fight against opioids, then our approach must be altered. Continue Reading...
August 31, 2018
International Overdose Awareness Day gives us a chance to ask two important questions: Why are so many people dying in America's opioid epidemic? And what should we be doing about it? Continue Reading...
Deaths of Despair or Access to Healthcare?
August 15, 2018
"Deaths of despair" is an effective soundbite — it takes a complicated problem and gives all of us a simple way to understand it. But as easy as it is to look at rural communities and point to despair, it isn’t necessarily at the root of rural opioid misuse, and it doesn’t necessarily lead to the right policy solutions. Continue Reading...
The Other Family Separation Crisis
August 8, 2018
Even though adults are the ones with addictions, a closer look at foster care suggests that children may be paying the price. Foster care is expensive and — even with good placements — the effects can be far-reaching and long-lasting. Continue Reading...
When Battling Addiction, Is Jail Time the Problem or the Only Solution?
July 5, 2018
Despite the widely shared belief that we can’t arrest our way out of the opioid crisis, questions still remain about whether and to what extent jail is ever the solution. For some families, the answer is not so obvious. Continue Reading...
June 27, 2018
By talking to community members, public officials, medical experts, and activists, we seek a better understanding of the causes and effects of the opioid epidemic not just in Sullivan County, but in similar communities across the country. Continue Reading...
June 6, 2018
Above all, the people on the frontlines of the opioid epidemic want state and federal policymakers to see the problem from their perspective. Continue Reading...
May 29, 2018
According to a national survey conducted by the 2004 Faces & Voices of Recovery Campaign, more than two-thirds of American families have been touched by addiction. What does this mean for families? And, where can they go to get help? Continue Reading...
#MeToo in the Wake of Addiction
May 14, 2018
Women who have experienced sexual violence are five times more likely to misuse prescription opioids. But women and men don’t just use drugs because of trauma caused by sexual assault -- they are also more vulnerable to sexual assault because of their addictions. Continue Reading...
April 6, 2018
The opioid epidemic is a heavy burden on the public health and criminal justice systems in Sullivan County, New York. It also takes a heavy toll on families, social services, and schools. Continue Reading...
March 28, 2018
To get a better feel for what the local fight against opioids looks like, we spoke to a range of people in Sullivan County about their experiences. What came into focus was a multi-front battle fought along the lines of crisis management, treatment and recovery, and prevention. Continue Reading...
March 13, 2018
Rural areas present unique challenges in combating the opioid crisis. In the part two of our ongoing series, we take a look at what sets a rural community, like Sullivan County, apart from urban and suburban settings. Continue Reading...
March 8, 2018
This is the first in a multipart series examining the opioid crisis. Through a combination of on-the-ground research in affected communities and aggregate data analysis, we give you Stories from Sullivan that provide insight into what the opioid problem looks like, how communities respond, and what kinds of policies have the best chance of making a difference. Continue Reading...
Listen: Rockefeller Institute Researchers Discuss Opioid Study
March 3, 2018
Rockefeller Institute researchers recently discussed their ongoing study of New York's opioid crisis with the Kingfisher Project, an opioid awareness campaign, on WJFF’s Making Waves radio program. Continue Reading...
Applied Work-Based Learning at the State University of New York
December 18, 2017
An analysis of applied learning initiatives in seven U.S. states and five countries, as well as initial findings from a pilot study aimed at measuring the effects of work- based applied learning experiences on students’ academic success. Continue Reading...
Supplementary Report on Assessing Labor Market Outcomes
December 17, 2017
This supplement to the applied learning report explores the feasibility of using linked academic and employment/wage records to assess the effects of internships on students’ employment outcomes. Continue Reading...
What does it mean to be an American? Lessons from Puerto Rico
September 2, 2017
Puerto Rico is struggling to recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Maria, but the uncertainty caused by a natural disaster is compounded by confusion about what the territory’s connection is to the United States. Continue Reading...
Do We Need to Raise Awareness About Sexual Assault?
April 10, 2017
On March 31, President Donald Trump proclaimed April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Political commentators and late-night talk show hosts had a field day. Continue Reading...
