Press Release  Probation Commissioner appoints Worcester native Derrick Mensah Statewide Manager for Substance Abuse Services

Boston, MA — Commissioner of Probation Edward J. Dolan has appointed Derrick Mensah to the new position of Statewide Manager for Substance Abuse Services for the Massachusetts Probation Service.

As statewide manager, Mensah will assist the agency in providing effective, evidence-based monitoring of substance use by clients. This new division of Probation was created to provide research on the best practices regarding testing of substances, trends in substance use disorder, and recommended frequency of testing. In this position, Mensah will support the efforts of probation officers to ensure that drug testing is “encouraging treatment and recovery as well as reducing harm.”

Mensah comes to Probation from Avertest, a Richmond, Virginia-based company which provides drug and alcohol testing services, program design, customized results reporting and testing history data management.

“Mr. Mensah brings to this new position years of experience in this field and with it considerable technical knowledge and management skills to help the MPS create effective treatment and testing strategies.” said Commissioner Edward J. Dolan. “As we expand testing and other resources to probationers, the court-involved, and their families, the need for an effective state of the art approach to this work is foundational any work we do in programming and treatment. We look forward to Derrick leading in this effort.”

The statewide manager will maintain offices in Boston and Clinton.

“It is an honor and a privilege to work with an organization that seeks to have a positive impact on individuals, families and communities while upholding a high standard of integrity,” said Mensah.

He earned a master’s degree in Religion and Christian Leadership, a master’s of Divinity Professional Ministries, and a bachelor’s degree in Multidisciplinary Studies—Religion and Psychology from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

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