Policies to improve the way states organize and deliver alcohol and drug prevention and treatment
Background and Purpose:
State treatment and prevention organizations are not the only agencies whose expenses and activities are driven by the needs of individuals with substance use disorders. Work by agencies responsible for criminal justice, child welfare, public health, mental health, and education are all affected by these problems.
In fact, substance use disorders are responsible for about 13% of all state expenditures, not the 0.5% that is allocated for substance use treatment and prevention. However, drug and alcohol policy, treatment and prevention rarely get the attention they deserve at the state level.
In response to this, Join together convened a national policy panel to investigate the role state governments can play in improving the treatment and prevention of substance use disorders. The panel, chaired by Michael Dukakis, is interested in exploring what can be done by senior state leaders, including the governor and other appointed and elected officials. The panel wants to present state government leaders and concerned citizens with practical suggestions for organizational structures that foster leadership, effective policy development and collaboration, best clinical practice, and appropriate levels of funding to actually address the scale of their state's substance use disorder and prevention challenges.
The following resources provided important background information for the panelists:
