Pubdate: Wed, 03 Apr 2002
Source: Messenger-Inquirer (KY)
Copyright: 2002 Messenger-Inquirer
Contact:  http://www.messenger-inquirer.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1285
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

IMPROVING DRUG TREATMENT OPTIONS IMPORTANT

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kent Wicker sounded a warning last summer when he 
said that the battle against methamphetamine was making progress in the 
areas of enforcement and education but was a failure in terms of treatment.

Options are limited, Wicker said, and available treatment opportunities 
have not been terribly successful.

His comments weren't meant to be a knock on the local treatment community, 
but rather an admission that treatment is the one area that often gets 
overlooked as a community struggles to get a hold on its drug problem.

Local officials seem to have taken note as several leaders met last week to 
address Owensboro's lack of adequate treatment facilities, both for adults 
and adolescents.

One local judge estimates that up to 80 percent of the cases he hears are 
related to drugs or alcohol. Studies put the total cost for substance abuse 
in Kentucky at about $3.9 billion annually. So the move to examine the need 
for a treatment center is not only welcomed, it's one local leaders had to 
make.

Owensboro officials already have toured a residential facility in 
Louisville, and RiverValley Prevention Center is working with the Kentucky 
Agency for Substance Abuse Policy to identify needs and pinpoint where gaps 
in treatment exist. That study should be completed this month.

Ideally, the area needs a facility that can provide individualized 
inpatient treatment for up to 90 days, then monitor intensive outpatient 
therapy. The city is looking at property to locate a treatment facility, 
City Commissioner Olive Burroughs said.

But, as is the case in so many areas, bricks and mortar are not what is 
most important here. To their credit, those doing the needs assessment seem 
to realize that it's the programs, not where they are provided, that will 
make the difference.

The opportunity may exist for needed treatment options to be provided by 
existing agencies. The ongoing RiverValley and Kentucky ASAP study will be 
important in determining where services may overlap and what can be done to 
make better use of the resources already available.

Mike Todd, director of substance abuse services for the Regional Chemical 
Dependency program in Henderson, says he doesn't think there is a need for 
another facility. His program is not at capacity, an indication that the 
possibility for collaboration of services exists. Whether that's the case 
remains to be seen, but the option should be explored.

It may turn out that a new facility is the best option for Owensboro, and 
if that proves true, it's a project local officials will need to explore. 
But because drug treatment is a vital factor in the community's future, it 
will be imperative that local officials get the maximum results from the 
limited resources available.
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MAP posted-by: Alex