Jennifer I. Manuel, Ph.D.
Professor and Associate Dean for Research
- Hartford CT UNITED STATES
Dr. Manuel's research addresses health disparities and transitions in youth care for substance use, mental health, and other critical needs.
Contact More Open optionsBiography
Jennifer I. Manuel is professor and associate dean for research at the UConn School of Social Work. She earned her MSW and Ph.D. from Columbia University School of Social Work, where she was funded by a NIMH T32 pre-doctoral fellowship. Dr. Manuel completed postdoctoral work at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, where she led a statewide initiative to develop, implement, and evaluate a model for transitioning clients from assertive community treatment to less intensive services. Dr. Manuel is a services and intervention researcher using quantitative and mixed method approaches. Her research broadly addresses health disparities and poor access to and transitions in care among youth, young adults and adults with substance use, mental health, and other critical needs (housing, employment, health, trauma). Most recently, she completed a NIDA-funded pilot study of Critical Time Intervention versus enhanced discharged services to reduce the risk of relapse and homelessness among individuals leaving long-term residential substance use treatment. Dr. Manuel’s current work focuses on implementation research to optimize the delivery of evidence-based interventions for multiple contexts in community practice.
Areas of Expertise
Education
Columbia School of Social Work
Ph.D.
Advanced Social Work Practice
2008Columbia University School of Social Work
M.S.
Advanced Clinical Social Work Practice
2000Texas Christian University
B.S.
Social Work, Criminal Justice
1998Accomplishments
Fellow, Society for Social Work and Research Fellowship Program
2024
Links
Social
Media
Media Appearances
NYU Silver School Launches Fentanyl-involved Overdose Prevention Initiative in the Bronx
New York University online
2022-06-14
A new, South Bronx-centered initiative led by NYU Silver School of Social Work professors Jennifer Manuel and Lance Keene has drawn a New York City grant to help educate residents who use drugs, as well as the broader South Bronx community, about the risks from Fentanyl.
NYU Silver Partners with South Bronx Families and Community to Prevent Youth Substance Use, Unplanned Pregnancy, and Sexually Transmitted Infections
NYU Silver School of Social Work online
2021-12-09
As part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funded Educate, Test and Navigate and Safer Haven projects on which they are respectively Principal Investigators, Assistant Professor Lance Keene and Associate Professor Jennifer Manuel launched the Bronx Family Coalition for Health (BFC4H) in July 2021. Developed and run in partnership with the Adolescent AIDS Program at Montefiore Medical Center, BFC4H operates on the ground in the South Bronx, supporting the health and well-being of the community’s youth and working with families to prevent underage drinking, substance use, unplanned pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Event Appearances
Impact of Medicaid expansion on treatment admissions involving opioid use in residential substance use treatment settings
Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference Seattle, WA – 2025
Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a continuing care program following residential substance use treatment
The College on Problems of Drug Dependence 86th Annual Scientific Meeting Montreal, Canada – 2024
Assessing the impact of a blended payment model on client termination from substance use treatment
Society for Social Work and Research 28th Annual Conference Washington, DC – 2024
Using mobile phone technology to assess substance use recovery outcomes and promote recovery
Society for Social Work and Research 28th Annual Conference Washington, DC – 2024
Barriers and facilitators to implementing evidence-based practices in substance use treatment
Society for Social Work and Research 28th Annual Conference Washington, DC – 2024
Research Grants
Connecticut Treatment Expansion and Enhancement
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration $545,000
2024-2025
SBIRT PATHS Initiative
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration $995,000
2024-2029
Project CHAMPION
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration $2,125,000
2025-2030
Articles
Applying Communication Science to Substance Use Prevention Messaging
The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research2025 Despite a wealth of evidence-based messaging on youth alcohol and drug prevention, there remains a dearth of research on how to construct and deliver these messages effectively. Communication science is useful for increasing the efficacy of these messages in reducing substance use risk among youth. This study explores the perspectives of youth and youth-serving providers to identify theory-informed substance use prevention messages and strategies and how the content and delivery of prevention messages evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a secondary analysis of qualitative data derived from focus groups with 53 youth ages 13 to 18 years and 18 youth-serving providers conducted in the USA between 2021 and 2022.
Strategies for relapse prevention among people with schizophrenia in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa: Healthcare providers’ perspectives
PLoS One2025 Introduction Relapse is a significant challenge among people with schizophrenia and is broadly recognized by the aggravation of positive or negative symptoms, the need for re-hospitalization, more intensive case management, and/or changes in medication. The quality of inpatient care and proper transition to outpatient care are crucial in reducing the risk of relapse. Healthcare providers play vital roles in ensuring the continuity of care after patients are discharged from the hospital. Little is known about the roles of preventing relapse from the perspective of healthcare providers. This study explored the currently existing strategies for preventing relapse from the perspective of healthcare providers.
Factors associated with housing stability among individuals with co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders receiving assertive community treatment services
Community Mental Health Journal2025 Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a community-based, multidisciplinary mental health treatment model with improved housing stability as a treatment goal. We know little about factors contributing to housing stability among ACT participants with co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders, who account for 30% of the ACT participant population. Informed by the behavioral model of health service use, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between housing stability and theoretically relevant factors. We retrospectively abstracted the data from two ACT teams’ treatment service planning and tracking system.
Incentivizing co-occurring disorder diagnoses through blended payments
Social Science & Medicine2025 Background Treatments for mental health and substance use problems have historically been unintegrated, limiting co-occurring disorders treatment. Blending discrete payment models is one potential facilitator of integrated care. This study assesses the impact of one blended payment strategy on the diagnosis of co-occurring disorders in a community mental health system.
Factors Associated With Wait Time to Substance Use Treatment Among Pregnant Women in the United States
Substance Use & Addiction Journal2026 Background Substance use during pregnancy is associated with a range of negative outcomes for both newborns and pregnant women. However, few pregnant women who need substance use treatment access it, and wait time remains a factor determining access to treatment. This study examines individual and structural factors as predictors of wait time among a sample of pregnant women accessing substance use services.
