Netsmart Technologies Signs $2,500,000 Contract With the State of Oklahoma

Netsmart Technologies Signs $2,500,000 Contract With the State of
Oklahoma
Netsmart Will Implement Its Avatar Suite of Products 


GREAT RIVER, N.Y., April 20  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netsmart Technologies,
Inc. (NASDAQ:NTST), a leading supplier of enterprise-wide software for health
and human services providers through its wholly owned subsidiary, Creative
Socio-Medics (Creative), today announced that Creative has been awarded a
$2,500,000 ten-year contract by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services (or ODMHSAS), following an industry-wide competitive
bid process.  The contract includes software license, professional services,
and a 10-year maintenance agreement to install the Avatar suite of human
services software, specifically the Avatar Practice Management and Clinician
Workstation.

"We selected Creative's Avatar products because of the ease of data entry,
flexibility of the system modeling tools, open system interfaces, HIPAA
compliance and the consolidation of remote facilities to one platform. In
addition, a major selling point was Creative's National User Association, made
up of 25 other statewide agencies," said Leo Fortelney, Chief Information
Officer at ODMHSAS.

The ODMHSAS was established through the Mental Health Law of 1953, although
publicly supported services to Oklahomans with mental illness date back to
early statehood. Today, ODMHSAS delivers services in the areas of mental
health, substance abuse, and domestic violence and sexual assault.  A governing
board provides oversight regarding Department functions and activity related to
the care, treatment, and recovery of persons suffering from mental illness,
substance abuse, and victimization related to sexual assault and domestic
violence.  The Board is responsible for appointing the Commissioner of Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Services.

The ODMHSAS provides services through a statewide network of programs to nearly
100,000 clients annually, working hard to respond to clients' needs with
effective programs that are conveniently located and easy to access.

For individuals with mental illness, ODMHSAS supports a continuum of programs
from community-based treatment and case management to acute inpatient care.
Programs for individuals dependent on alcohol or other drugs range from
outpatient counseling to extended residential treatment. Community-based
programs for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault provide safe
shelter, advocacy, and other services. The Department also actively supports
prevention programs to reduce the occurrence of substance abuse, violence, and
other harmful behaviors among young people.

James Gargiulo, Senior Vice President of Creative said,  "In a very competitive
procurement process that included all of our usual competitors and a few
well-known large HIS vendors, the Avatar suite of products have proven once
again that they are a leading standard for statewide and county human services
information systems. We believe that Creative's long-term strategy and
commitment to the industry are the primary reasons that Oklahoma selected us."

About Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

Netsmart Technologies, Inc. of Great River, NY, through Creative Socio- Medics,
is an established, leading supplier of enterprise-wide software solutions for
health and human services providers with over 600 clients, including 26 systems
with state agencies. Creative's clients include health and human services
organizations: public health agencies, mental health and substance abuse
clinics, psychiatric hospitals, and managed care organizations. Avatar Practice
Management and the Avatar Clinician Work Station, Creative's core products, are
full-featured information systems that operate on a variety of operating
systems, hardware platforms, and mobile devices and offer unlimited
scalability.

Statement on Behalf of Netsmart Technologies, Inc.

Statements in this press release may be "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend" and similar
expressions, as they relate to the company or its management, identify
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations,
estimates and projections about the company's business based, in part, on
assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future
performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult
to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and probably will,
differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking
statements due to numerous factors, including those described above and those
risks discussed from time to time in Netsmart's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. In addition, such statements could be affected by risks
and uncertainties related to product demand, market and customer acceptance,
competition, pricing and development difficulties, as well as general industry
and market conditions and growth rates, and general economic conditions. Any
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made,
and the company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.
Information on Netsmart's or Creative's website do not constitute a part of
this release. 

DATASOURCE: Netsmart Technologies, Inc.



CONTACT:  Ron Marge of Netsmart Technologies, 1-800-421-7503, ext. 2026,

; or Stuart Fine of Carpe DM, Inc., [phone],

, for Netsmart Technologies  



Web site:  http://www.netsmartech.com/ 

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