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OLYMPIA -- The head of the nation's top drug recovery and treatment agency has presented Washington State's Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) with a $13.7 million federal grant to provide transportation, housing and other support for Washington residents recovering from alcohol or other drug addictions.
This Access to Recovery (ATR) grant is the second awarded to the state of Washington. The first one, for $21 million, was given to the state in 2004 and ended October 31, 2007.
Dr. Terry Cline, Ph.D., Administrator of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) handed the new $13,678,560 check to DSHS Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams on Wednesday (December 5, 2007). Dr. Cline was in Olympia to meet local and state ATR managers as well as talk with members of the statewide Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking (RUaD) at the John Cherberg Building on the State Capitol Campus.
Both ATR grants from SAMHSA, an agency within the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, are aimed at helping the state build up treatment systems and strategies that have been shown to work. Under programs developed by ATR, clients will be more likely to find jobs, complete treatment, and to avoid future criminal activity.
"Providing people, who have substance abuse problems, with choices regarding their treatment and recovery supports makes sense," said SAMHSA Administrator Cline. "It helps empower them from the very beginning in the fight for their life. ATR provides individuals the flexibility needed to find their own path to recovery."
The latest grant will allow DSHS to support six counties - Pierce, King, Yakima, Clark, Snohomish, and Spokane - as they tap into services being provided by faith-based and community organizations. The grant funds will let those six counties give their clients a comprehensive assessment of their needs, a voucher for services that meet those needs, and a list of providers to select from.
"Studies show that modern addiction treatments are just as effective as today's treatments for medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and asthma," said Doug Allen, Director of the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA). "Providing choices for essential after-care support services helps people maintain recovery from a life-threatening disease."
The first ATR grant helped more than 11,000 people in Washington receive treatment and recovery support services, exceeding the target of 9,900 people. Another 7,000 Washington residents are expected to benefit from the new grant.
Compared to patients who did not receive the additional services, ATR clients contributed to higher treatment completion rates, higher employment rates and earnings, and fewer arrests.
Added Allen: "We have received many success stories from people who tell us that because of ATR, they were able to stay healthy, find a job, and be better parents."
The new grant funds will be available through 2010. Families will work with assigned recovery support specialists to develop recovery plans that identify the help they need to achieve and maintain recovery. The federal grant specifies that the agency will assign a high priority to people with a recent history of methamphetamine use. DASA has added an additional priority for National Guard veterans returning from service in Iraq or Afghanistan who are in need of recovery support services.
The public can get more information about ATR services in the six designated counties by contacting the Alcohol and Drug 24-Hour Help Line at 1-800-562-1240.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS:
FOR ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND, CONTACT: Deb Schnellman, Communications, Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, HRSA, DSHS, 360-725-3763
Jim Stevenson, Communications Director, HRSA, DSHS, 360-902-7604 (Pager: 360-971-4067).
