Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly articles from July 1997

Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly archives from July 1997

Prison-based treatment would multiply under California bill.
July 28, 1997... As California officials squabble over options for housing the state's growing prison population, Democratic State Sen. Bill Lockyer is targeting the estimated 80 percent of inmates with a substance abuse history through a proposed expansion...

SA providers struggle to define role in New York medicaid plan. (substance abuse)
July 28, 1997... With New York state having received federal approval for a Medicaid managed care program that will create special-needs plans for the seriously mentally ill but not for the addicted, the substance abuse treatment community is trying to make...

Industry consolidation continues with Merit announcement. (Merit Behavioral Care Corp.)
July 28, 1997... Managed behavioral health care company Merit Behavioral Care Corp. has made official its long-rumored plans to buy CMG Health Inc., a move that will solidify Merit's position in the public-sector Medicaid market by adding the state of...

Delaware study touts treatment plus aftercare.
July 28, 1997... Comprehensive substance abuse treatment for drug-addicted prison inmates, when coupled with post-release aftercare, reduces the probability of rearrest by 57 percent and the likelihood of a return to drug abuse by 37 percent, according to a...

SAMHSA studies will pave way for treatment outcome measures. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
July 28, 1997... Anticipating a conversion to a performance partnership grant system that will require more accountability from states, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) has...

Substance abuse clients among priority groups in rehab program.
July 28, 1997... Persons with substance abuse problems remain among the priority populations under the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research's Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) program, according to an announcement in...

Field dodges bullet on reintroduction of advocacy limits.
July 28, 1997... In recent weeks, word spread fast through the nonprofit community that congressional supporters of lobbying limits on groups receiving federal funds were about to make a new proposal. But opponents of lobbying restrictions celebrated a...

Local coalitions on 'guard' against cut in federal presence.
July 21, 1997... The National Guard specializes in ensuring community readiness, but these days the community is busy trying to protect the Guard from what it would term a sneak attack. The aggressor is Congress, which is considering a defense authorization...

Why does the TC work? Phoenix House and RAND seek answers. (therapeutic community)
July 21, 1997... The chief operating officer of the New York City-based Phoenix House uses the unusual metaphor of a compost heap to describe the complex set of reactions that generate recovery in a therapeutic community (TC). Kevin McEneaney knows from...

Field leaders converge on professional standards for counselors.
July 21, 1997... After a decade of broken-down negotiations and biker clashes, a group of national organizations have agreed on a set of professional standards for substance abuse counselors. Although the standards would not establish a mandatory counseling...

Draft standards do not represent major shift for field.
July 21, 1997... Despite years of wrangling that preceded the landmark collaboration of the leading professional organizations -- at one point, the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC) and the International Certification &...

Budget panel adds treatment money, deducts data collection.
July 21, 1997... The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education last week approved Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) budget numbers that are generally in line with President Clinton's...

New physicians' group could revolutionize drug war. (Addiction Insights)
July 21, 1997... Earlier this month, a group of physicians issued a consensus statement that, in essence, calls the war on drugs a failure. Not so unusual in this day and age -- until you consider that the group includes such notables as former Surgeon...

Pacesetter in liberalizing marijuana laws changes course. (Oregon changes marijuana law)
July 21, 1997... Oregon, which was the first state in the nation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, has made an about-face in its marijuana policy. After much deliberation, Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber earlier this month...

Michigan boards prepare for behavioral health carve-out.
July 21, 1997... The Michigan Department of Community Health and the Medical Services Administration are preparing to carve out Medicaid behavioral health services through the state's system of 51 community mental health boards, with an eye toward opening...

Medical professionals unite to examine drug policy options.
July 14, 1997... Saying the public has not bought into the interdiction-heavy focus in the war on drugs, a high-profile group of 38 physicians and health policy experts announced last week that it will open a frank dialogue on new policy directions and issue...

Appellate court ruling boosts providers in local zoning disputes.
July 14, 1997... A landmark ruling that prohibits a New York community from blocking a substance abuse treatment program's relocation should bolster the efforts of other treatment providers looking at sites in apprehensive neighborhoods. But administrators...

Premier tells Tennessee officials it wants out of TennCare. (Premier Behavioral Systems)
July 14, 1997... One year into Tennessee's behavioral health care carve-out, the situation appears to be heading from bad to worse. Premier Behavioral Systems, the behavioral health care organization (BHO) serving 60 percent of enrollees in the TennCare...

Treatment providers say NIMBY syndrome is alive and well. (not in my back yard attitude on relocation of psychiatric clinic)
July 14, 1997... Half a block down Martine Avenue in White Plains, N.Y., where Innovative Health Systems (IHS) has been trying to move for three years, is a state-run psychiatric outpatient clinic for dually diagnosed clients. The clinic moved in several...

Found: common ground between SA treatment and harm reduction. (From the Field)(Column)
July 14, 1997... Recently in San Francisco an unlikely assortment of individuals met to discuss opportunities for cooperation among the fields of drug policy reform, harm reduction and traditional substance abuse services. The seminar was convened by the...

Ramstad files alcohol commission bill; could parity be next? (Jim Ramstad)
July 14, 1997... A bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad (R.-Minn.), who is a recovering alcoholic, would give a national commission up to two years to formulate a national strategy to combat alcoholism. But Ramstad may be ready in the next several weeks...

CDC has funds for HIV prevention targeting youth. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
July 14, 1997... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced the availability of about $1.4 million for non-governmental efforts to prevent HIV infection and other priority health problems among youth in high-risk situations. Supported...