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Council on Alcohol & Drugs - Drugs Don't Work

Child - Drugs Don't Work

The Council on Alcohol and Drugs sponsors a program entitled Drugs Don’t Work at workplaces throughout the state of Georgia.  The Council has contracted with The Burruss Institute to measure the outcomes of the program by comparison of attitudes, knowledge and behaviors of employees at private companies in Georgia which do or do not take part in the Drugs Don’t Work program.



Department of Human Resources - Rape Prevention Education

Child - Department of Human Resources

The Burruss Institute has contracted with the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) in an effort to assist DHR assess the needs of the state regarding initiatives to reduce the prevalence of sexual violence. The findings of this project will be used to define rape prevention education (RPE) programs in the future for the state of Georgia. Findings will include information regarding geographic areas in which RPE is most needed, and target populations for RPE.

Georgia Legal Needs Survey

Supreme Court’s Committee on Civil Justice (CCJ) has contracted with the A. L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the civil legal needs of Georgia’s citizens. It has been thirteen years since the last such assessment. Since that time, the state’s low income population has increased but funding for legal aid programs has not seen a proportional increase. Revisions to laws and changes in the legal system have also increased the need for legal services. Accordingly, CCJ has determined that it is essential to obtain an updated Legal Needs Survey to assist in formulating a long-term strategic plan for the funding and successful delivery of legal services to Georgia’s low income citizens. The new Legal Needs Survey will assist CCJ in fulfilling its mission to develop, coordinate and support policy initiatives to expand access to, and enhance the quality of, Georgia’s civil justice system, assuring equal justice for all.

Specific goals of the Legal Needs Survey are to:
Identify and quantify met and unmet needs for civil legal services;
Obtain data to help guide policy and advocacy efforts to increase financial, human, and in-kind resources for civil legal aid; and
Obtain data to help guide policy decisions regarding the wise and efficient use of all available resources.

Several methods of data collection will be undertaken including telephone surveys, focus groups, personal interviews and web-based data surveys of the general population, legal providers, nonprofit groups, hard to reach citizen groups and groups with special needs. Telephone surveys in particular will be conducted among low-income and moderate income households in Georgia, as well as among attorneys regarding their participation in pro bono services.

Council on Alcohol & Drugs

Council on Alcohol and Drugs

The Council on Alcohol and Drugs and the Burruss Institute have entered into a multi-year contract. The Council has asked the Institute to conduct a multi-level evaluation of some of its youth and parent participation programs. Three types of programs are being evaluated; Middle After-School Prevention Programming (MAPP), Prevention Programming for Latino Youth (PPLY),  and Substance Use Prevention Education Resource (SUPER). In addition, separate evaluations are being conducted of the Georgia Alcohol Policy Partnership (GAPP) and the Media Literacy Workshop.

All of the programs evaluated in this project have as their mission to prevent or reduce the use of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) by youth participants in the programs.  Other goals include providing participants with the knowledge and resources to avoid the use of ATOD. Parent participation is also included in all MAPP and PPLY after-school programs and in SUPER. reducing the risk of drug abuse in school-aged children. The evaluations will be conducted via various methodologies.

Pathways HMIS Users in Georgia Satisfied


More than 97% of Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) users in Georgia satisfied with services they have received from Pathways, according to a new Kennesaw State University's A. L. Burruss Institute of Public  Service and Research study.  For more information on this study click this link for a complete summary.

Division of Aging Services Public Meetings

The Burruss Institute conducted 12 public hearings across Georgia in the months of October and November. The purpose of the hearings was to identify needs of seniors, solicit input from the public and provide a method for informing the public as to the services and programs offered by the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and the Division of Aging Services (DAS). Click here for final report and presentation.

Georgia's Undocumented Workforce Conference:

Kennesaw State University hosted a multidisciplinary conference and workshop on undocumented workers in Georgia. The conference / workshop was designed to benefit scholars and practitioners in the fields of immigration, governance, economics, law, history, and sociology.

Conference organizers brought together a diverse group of scholars and interested citizens to open a civil dialogue on the often contentious issue of immigration. Our chief purposes are to inform by offering a forum for the presentation of research in this area and to begin a process of discussion that may lead to greater understanding.

The Conference was sponsored by the A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research, the Center for Regional History and Culture and the Center for Hispanic Studies. For information, contact the Burruss Institute of Public Service and Research at 770-423-6464 or

Post Conference Details and Reports

Burruss Institute & Joshua Brown Foundation form Research Partnership

The A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Service & the Joshua Brown Foundation have come together to form a research partnership on teen driving. For more information, see the Joshua Brown Foundation website.

The Joshua Brown Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to save teen lives through the development of technologically proven driver education programs.

Mayan Conference Promotes Awareness, Preserves Traditions

Members of the Pastoral Maya, an international, non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the problems faced by Mayans in their home countries and abroad, met at the fourth annual Maya National Conference on September 3, 2005 at the KSU Center. The attendees traveled to Georgia from all over the United States for the event.



Gwinnett County Citizens Concerned About Underage Drinking, Support Policy Reform


As part of a partnership between the Burruss Institute of Public Service, Gwinnett United in Drug Education (GUIDE, Inc.) and the Metro Atlanta Council on Alcohol and Drugs (MACAD), Burruss Institute staff collected and analyzed data obtained through a telephone survey of 432 residents in Gwinnett County. The survey was designed to compare public opinion of the risks of underage drinking with knowledge of current drinking regulations. The survey also tested the support for new laws and other efforts, such as citizen awareness groups. The drinking behaviors of respondents, along with perceptions of teenagers' access to alcohol and the prevalence of underage drinking, were also considered.

GA County Commissioners Support Shorter Campaigns, Improving Voter Awareness

The Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) asked the Burruss Institute of Public Service to conduct a study on the opinions of its members regarding the campaigning process and election reform. In addition to preparing and distributing a survey to the 783 county commissioners in the state, the Burruss Institute directed a focus group discussion with a task force of commissioners. The study focused on methods for increasing voter turnout, improving voter awareness and facilitating campaigns.

GPB Educator Assessment Reveals Need for Better Training, Expanded Programming

Together with other member institutions of the Regional University Research Group (RURG), the A. L. Burruss Institute of Public Service conducted an evaluative study of education professionals and their attitudes toward the many educational products and services provided by Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB). Investigators used telephone surveys, focus groups, follow-up questionnaires and interviews to obtain data on awareness, usage and satisfaction with GPB services among 50 principals, 56 librarian and 500 K-12 teachers.

Study Identifies Human Services Needs In Cobb County

Since November 2003, the Burruss Institute of Public Service and the Center for Community Partnerships have been conducting the Cobb County Georgia Community Needs Assessment on behalf of the Cobb Community Collaborative, an organization dedicated to facilitating cooperation between service organizations. The study is designed to identify the populations that have the greatest need for human services in the Cobb County area. The Burruss Institute's research staff collected data on the locations of human service organizations, the areas served and the efficiency of services provided. The locations and area concentrations of service organizations were compared with census tract information for poverty, unemployment, and percentage of minors, Hispanics and Latinos in area populations.