Dec 12th 2007, 12:40

Vouchers Give Access to Recovery

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a lot of Americans do not receive treatment for drug or alcohol use problem, despite the fact that many of them are aware that they needed treatment.

For example, in 2006, 21.1 million were untreated for substance abuse. Of this number, only 940,000 said they felt they needed treatment; 314,000 of them said they knew they needed treatment but did not find care, SAMHSA says.

Government response: Access to Recovery

In response to this problem, President Bush created the Access to Recovery initiative. This grant program gives funding to states and organizations to provide vouchers to people who are looking for drug and alcohol treatment services. These vouchers can be used to pay for a wide variety of community-based clinical treatment and recovery support services that they cannot afford otherwise.

Since 2004, when the first Access to Recovery grants were awarded, around $300 million have funded the treatment and recovery support services for more than 170,000 people with substance abuse problems.

Three-year grants of a little under $100 million each year are awarded to help grantees increase access to clinical treatment and recovery support services for around 160,000 people.

Benefits of treatment

SAMHSA says that the following benefits to the individual and the community are brought about by treatment:

• Even hard-to-reach populations reduce their illegal drug use by nearly half.
• Treatment reduces criminal activity by 80%.
• It markedly increases employment and decreases homelessness.
• It results in substantially improved physical and mental health.
• It reduces risky sexual behaviors.
• When tailored to the needs of the individual, addiction treatment is as effective as treatments for other illnesses, such as diabetes, hypertension, and asthma.

If you'd like to know more about the Access to Recovery program, you can contact SAMHSA's Office of Communications at (240)276-2130.

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