What's New about DASA

What's New at DASA

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Updated Items

2008 Calendar of Events/Trainings

Greenbook "Directory of Certified Chemical Dependency Services in Washington State" available in PDF and Word.

Information and Media items- please visit the Media and publications page for viewing public education materials, publications, and news releases.

Research/Evaluation Reports and Fact Sheets

Research, Evaluation & Quality Assurance Hot Topics

Treatment and Report Generation Tool (TARGET) System Documentation

Treatment and Report Generation Tool (TARGET) Updates

Washington FOCUS, state and local news and resources for drug abuse prevention, intervention, and recovery.

Patients Satisfaction with Publicly Funded Chemical Dependency Treatment

Patients Speak Out 2007 (pdf) Ninety percent of adults enrolled in community-based chemical dependency (CD) treatment programs in Washington State reported that they will return to the same program if they were to seek help again, according to the 2007 Statewide Patient Satisfaction Survey commissioned by the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. The survey was held during the week of March 19, 2007, involving 460 publicly funded and private CD agencies providing intensive inpatient, recovery house, long-term residential, outpatient, and opiate substitution treatment.

2007 Trends Report

"Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Drug Abuse Trends in Washington State-2007" is an annually published reference tool that can be used to measure progress in the state's effort to prevent and treat substance abuse. The 2007 Trends Report is the 15th published by the Division. It contains information about the economic costs of substance abuse, substance abuse prevalence and trends, impacts of substance abuse, the effectiveness of prevention and treatment, and policy issues confronting the state. Printed copies of the report may be ordered by contacting the Washington State Alcohol/Drug Clearinghouse by e-mail at clearinghouse@adhl.org or by phone at (800) 662-9111 toll free (from within Washington State) or (206) 725-9696 (from Seattle or out of state).

FY 2008 Synar Report Available

The annual Synar Report (pdf) detailing a statewide study of compliance with the state's youth access to tobacco is now available for review. The Synar Report is a Federal requirement associated with the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant through the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Synar regulation provides for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to withhold up to 40-percent of the block grant funds for prevention if the state's non-compliance rate exceeds 20-percent. We invite you to read and review the report and provide comments back regarding the report to: Heidi Dodd, Synar Coordinator, at (360) 725-3769 or doddhj@dshs.wa.gov.

The Access to Recovery (ATR) Final Report is Now Available

In 2004, the state of Washington was one of 14 states to be awarded a $22.8 million, three-year grant. The purpose of this grant was to provide recovery services to individuals in crisis who have been identified as having an alcohol or other drug abuse or dependency problem.

With the completion of the three-year Access to Recovery grant, DASA has issued a final report (pdf) summarizing the achievements of the ATR project. Topics include: charts and graphs of number of clients served, with a breakdown by gender, and ethnicity, relationships between criminality, earnings, substance abuse treatment retention, substance abuse and ATR involvement, county success stories and comments, and client survey results. For further information, contact Vince Collins, Project Director, at (360) 725-3713.

View information on DASA's newly awarded ATR II grant.

Medicaid Costs Declined Among Emergency Department Patients Who Received Brief Interventions for Substance Use Disorders through WASBIRT - Interim Report

This report (PDF) details changes in Medicaid costs for 1,315 disabled Medicaid clients who received at least a brief intervention through the Washington State Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (WASBIRT) project were compared to changes in costs for 8,972 Medicaid clients who did not receive an intervention through this program. Differences in Medicaid costs for the two groups before and after an Emergency Department visit were examined using two-stage, propensity-score adjusted regression models. The reduction in total Medicaid costs after receiving the brief intervention ranged from −$185 per member per month (pmpm) (p<.05) to −$192 pmpm (p=.08), depending on the regression model. Most of the Medicaid cost reductions were due to declines in the costs associated with inpatient hospitalizations from Emergency Department admissions.

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Arrests Among Working-Age Disabled Clients: The Role of Mental Illness and Substance Abuse

This criminal justice outcomes report (pdf) examines arrest outcomes among clients who receive medical coverage through the state’s Medicaid Disabled or General Assistance Unemployable (GA-U) programs. Findings indicated that arrests are concentrated among clients with indications of alcohol or other drug (AOD) problems. Research was reviewed that indicates AOD treatment significantly reduces risk of arrest among working-age disabled clients.

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FY 2008 Federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Application Available On-Line

The annual Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) application to the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for block grant funding can now be reviewed on-line. The link below provides access to information on how DASA expends the $34+ million provided to the State of Washington annually. Information in the document (approximately 300 pages) deals with 2005, 2007, and 2008. The actual application is now Web-based and is available to the public at: https://bgas.samhsa.gov/2008/. In order to access the FFY 2008 application, you must enter the following information:

Username: Washington
Password: Olympia45

If you have any questions on information in the application, please contact Kathie Roberts at (360) 725-3808 or roberkj@dshs.wa.gov.

ABC's of ADATSA

The ABC's of ADATSA Manual (PDF), Revised Edition July 2007, is the most current version that reflects recent updates to the manual. For a quick reference of all changes, you will find there is a "Changes Made" reference in the index portion of the manual to make understanding and locating changes easier. This manual will be continually updated as our system and delivery of service is also monitored for cross system improvements.

DASA County Implementation Guide (DCIG)

The DASA County Implementation Guide contains relevant resources and detailed information needed to implement the Program Agreement (Contract) between the County and DASA and is intended as a comprehensive source of technical information directly related to it. Some of the material in the DCIG was formerly found in the County Program Agreement, but was moved to the DCIG to simplify and reduce the size of the Program Agreement. The County Program Agreement makes reference to the DCIG for detailed information, which then becomes binding under the contract between the County and DASA.

Publicly-Funded Residential Treatment Provider's Directory

The Residential Provider Directory (PDF) has been updated July 31, 2007, to reflect changes in programming requested by agencies that are listed. Also, bed allocations and contractual information for publicly-funded residential beds was updated to reflect the overall changes for the 2007-2009 Biennium.

The Directory is provided by the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) as a tool designed to augment and enhance the information already provided in the Directory of Certified Chemical Dependency Services in Washington State, also known as the DASA Greenbook.

This Directory is intended for use by treatment providers, referring counselors and assessment centers, as well as the general public to assist in the facilitation of treatment services in Washington State. The Directory includes not only basic contact information for each center, but enlists several other features of the facility as well as including bed capacity of the program, admission criteria and exclusions, treatment philosophy and a listing of other services provided at the agency. This allows for placement at the "best fit" for each client referred to residential chemical dependency treatment services in Washington State.

DSHS Administrative Policy 7.01 - Statewide and Regional Action Plans for Services to American Indian Tribes and Communities

This policy defines the Department’s commitment to consult with Federally Recognized Tribes of Washington State, Recognized American Indian Organizations, and individual American Indians and Alaska Natives in planning DSHS service programs to ensure quality and comprehensive service delivery to all American Indians and Alaska Natives in Washington State. (PDF)

Healthy Youth Survey

Read the results of the biennial Healthy Youth Survey that measures behaviors in Washington's students. The results cover a variety of topics including alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, weapons in schools, gang involvement, and physical activity.

Youth Alcohol Use In Washington State

Are our children using alcohol? How strong are the barriers to drinking in Washington State? See facts about underage drinking in Youth Alcohol Use In Washington State.

Facts About the Methamphetamine Problem in Washington State

Methamphetamines: Myths Versus Reality (PowerPoint Presentation)

Luchansky, B., Krupski, A., & Stark, K. (2007). Treatment response by primary drug of abuse: Does methamphetamine make a difference? Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 32, 89-96. Publicly funded patients using methamphetamine were compared to those using other drugs on completion of and readmission to treatment, employment, and criminal justice involvement. Both youth and adult patients were tracked for 1 year following discharge. There were few differences between methamphetamine users and users of other hard drugs, whereas there were consistent differences between methamphetamine users and users of alcohol and marijuana. Alcohol and marijuana users tended to have more positive outcomes than the other groups.

"The Methamphetamine Problem in Washington State." (pdf)

GAIN-SS Implementation

All publicly funded contracted treatment providers are required to use the GAIN-SS (Global Assessment of Individual Needs-Short Screener) as the tool for conducting the integrated comprehensive screening and assessment process effective January 1, 2007, per RCW 70.96C.010. Treatment agencies are required to document all scores in DASA's TARGET (Treatment and Assessment Report Generation Tool).

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Gold Pages Resource Guide

The Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) is dedicated to building collaborative partnerships with communities, tribes, counties, service providers, educational providers, the criminal justice system, and other agencies within local, state, and federal governments. With that in mind, we are excited about providing the "Gold Pages Resource Guide (pdf)" to you. Our hope is that this guide will provide you with a quick description of existing programs, assist you in better matching needs with available services, and connect you with appropriate staff to pursue mutual interests and projects.

DASA Treatment Expansion Update: Expanding Access to Alcohol/Drug Treatment

This update (pdf) reports that SENATE BILL 5763, The Omnibus Treatment of Mental and Substance Abuse Disorders Act of 2005 provided expanded funding for chemical dependency treatment of approximately $32 million for adults and $6.7 million for youth. The adult expansion was targeted for adults on Medicaid and General Assistance and was funded primarily by assumed savings in medical and long-term care costs. Youth expansion funds were earmarked for adolescents in households with income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. No offsetting savings were budgeted for the youth treatment expansion.

Washington’s Outpatient Services Extended Rate Study

This report (pdf) is the third in a series of treatment services rate studies conducted by the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA). James E. Sorensen, Ph.D., CPA has been the consultant in all three studies and has effectively collaborated with the Washington chemical dependency provider system and the counties to accurately asses the rate structure for the outpatient treatment system. Under the direction of the Outpatient Rate Study Advisory Committee, Dr. Sorensen examined the data from several perspectives to establish actual costs versus rate reimbursements from DASA. One of the key findings was that current state outpatient rates cover only 53% of the actual cost of delivering the services. The report elaborates on other key findings and the methodology used to reach these conclusions.

Research Based Prevention Outcomes, Washington State Incentive Grant (SIG) Substance Use Outcomes Among Adolescents in Communities that Received State Incentive Grants

This report (PDF) examines the prevention steps in 18 Washington communities that were more effective in reducing community-wide use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs among middle school youth. Federal authorities funded these communities to spearhead research-based prevention efforts from 1999 to 2002.

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General Assistance-Unemployable Clients: Challenges and Opportunities Relating to Chronic Health Conditions

This report describes the prevalence of chronic health conditions in the General Assistance-Unemployable (GA-U) population and how these conditions are related to outcomes including the frequency of emergency room (ER) visits, risk of arrest, and likelihood the GA-U client transitions to Medicaid. (Report - PDF)

Multilevel Examination of the Relationships Between Risk/Protective Factors and Academic Test Scores

Multilevel Examination of the Relationships Between Risk/Protective Factors and Academic Test Scores, July 2006 (Full Report - PDF)

Levels of Risk, Protection and Drug Use in Schools Predict Students' WASL Scores. Social Development Research Group, 2006 (Report Summary - PDF)

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Adolescent Treatment Coordination Grant

The Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) has been awarded one of sixteen Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Coordination Grants to improve statewide coordination for adolescents and their families seeking treatment. The award is $400,000 a year for three years. DASA is using funds to develop a statewide infrastructure that fosters cross system planning, and knowledge and resource sharing to enhance the existing adolescent substance abuse treatment system. For more information call David Jefferson (360) 725-3814 or jefferd@dshs.wa.gov

Problem Gambling Program

Information about the Problem Gambling Program is available on the DASA web site. During the 2005 legislative session, ESHB 1031 was passed which provided for .01% of the net profits from the Horse Racing Commission, Gambling Commission and Washington's Lottery to be set aside for services to problem gamblers and family members. The percentage will increase to .013% in subsequent fiscal years. The projected revenues from these funds are $750,000 per year, or $1.5 M for the biennium. In addition, seven tribes contributed a total of $552,500 for treatment of problem gambling in 2005. Responsibility for planning, implementing, and overseeing this program was delegated to the Department of Social and Health Services, through the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse.

Two Guides new to the web

Background Check Resource Guide (PDF) for DASA Certified and Contracted Agencies. This is an instructional booklet on obtaining and interpreting background checks through the Washington State Patrol, and covers reading and understanding the results. Background screening is one small part of the assessment of a potential employee's ability to care for, or have unsupervised access to children, vulnerable adults, or persons who are developmentally disabled who may be impacted by alcohol or other substance abuse.

DUI "DOL Guidebook (PDF) (for Washington State Chemical Dependency Professionals and Probation Assessment Officers)." This guidebook was developed collaboratively by Department of Licensing and DASA to provide CDPs and POAs pertinent and critical information when providing services to persons arrested for Driving Under the Influence/Physical Control/Vehicular Assault and Vehicular Homicide.

Budget and Decision Package Proposals 2005-2007

The Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse has submitted its budget and decision package proposals for 2005-2007. View the following for more information-Budget and Decision Package Proposals 2005-2007

Check out information on the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) web site related to the 05-07 Biennium Budget Request

Washington State Residential Rate Study

The Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse and the residential treatment agencies across the state worked with the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and state residential providers on conducting a residential rate study from May 2003 to August 2004. The study was officially released on August 19, 2004.

The cost study accomplished two basic goals:

It helped the state determine that current residential treatment rates are not adequate to sustain current providers and attract new providers.
In the long-term, it will help provide adequate residential treatment rates to ensure that programs can provide the level of quality care expected by the state of Washington.

View Residential Rate Study (PDF)
View Residential Rate Summary of Cost Averages Spreadsheet (PDF)

DASA 2003 Annual Report

The DASA Annual Report "Investing in Our Future" (PDF) for State Fiscal Year 2003 is now available. The Report outlines the goals, strategies, services, outcomes, and future challenges facing DASA as it strives to prevent alcohol and other drug abuse from wreaking havoc in our communities, and to restore individuals and families to wholeness through the provision of timely, effective chemical dependency treatment services.

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Modified: April 29, 2008