Pubdate: Thu, 04 May 2006
Source: FFWD (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 FFWD
Contact:  http://www.ffwdweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1194
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

YOUTH WORKER SAYS MANDATORY DRUG TREATMENT MISGUIDED

A Calgary social worker who works with drug-addicted youth says she's 
concerned about new provincial legislation that will allow parents to ask 
the courts to lock up their teenagers at a detox centre.

The legislation, called the Protection of Children Abusing Drugs Act 
(PCHAD), will take effect on July 1, 2006. Under the Act, a parent or 
guardian can apply to the courts to have their drug-addicted teenager 
forcibly confined at a detox centre for five days. A provincial court judge 
has to be satisfied the teenager is addicted to drugs before the order is 
given.

Stasha Huntingford, a youth worker at Raido House, which houses homeless 
youth, says she's concerned that locking teenagers up for mandatory 
treatment might worsen their drug problem.

"It's a really politically charged bill and, of course, as a youth worker I 
have to support the provincial legislation. But I wish that Alberta based 
their legislation more on what we know about best practices, about 
evidence-based social work," says Huntingford. "There's strong evidence 
that says (mandatory treatment) makes it worse."

She says some teenagers may just be "experimenting" with drugs and if 
they're forced into treatment "that's when they tend to rebel and do a 
bunch of other drugs that they might not have tried without mandated drug 
treatment."

"People need to want to change to change. You can't force people to 
change," she says.

Huntingford also has concerns about the short length of the mandatory detox 
because she says detox takes at least 10 days for crack cocaine and even 
longer for crystal meth.

"They're likely to overdose if they're half detoxed because the chemicals 
only have just gone from the body, but if you do the same amount you did 
five days ago, you might die. That is a concern for me," she says.

She adds that she'd prefer to see more resources put into voluntary drug 
treatment programs for teenagers who have chosen to get help -- there are 
currently four provincially funded detox beds and 12 residential treatment 
bed for youth in Calgary -- and she's had some clients who have had to wait 
three months to get help.

"I personally think that there is enough young people in Calgary who want 
to quit and may be more limited by treatment options, rather than by the 
willingness to quit," she says.

Huntingford is concerned that teenagers who are voluntarily seeking help 
will be bumped out of beds by teenagers mandated to get help through PCHAD.

Darlene Gartner, AADAC senior manager of PCHAD, says the legislation was 
driven by parents who wanted more options to get help for their kids, and 
AADAC will spend the first two years closely monitoring the program in 
order to gauge its success. She says they will follow teenagers who have 
gone through the five-day detox to see what the outcome is.

"We're going to ask kids themselves what they think and get some guidance 
from them," she says. "In two years we'll have a far better knowledge of 
what's working and is not."

AAADAC will be increasing the number of voluntary detox beds by two this 
year and will also be adding two more residential treatment beds. Gartner 
says there will also be five or six detox beds specifically dedicated to 
the PCHAD program in place by this summer. AADAC is also increasing the 
number of counsellors across the province.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D