The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported Oct. 8 that even as demand for treatment has risen, many counselors have left the field, and treatment programs have had a tough time recruiting replacements.

"I don't know that we are completely at a crisis stage yet, but we have to pay attention to the fact that we have a number of things converging on us," said Pamela Waters, director of the Southern Coast Addiction Technology Transfer Center, which trains addiction counselors.

In Florida, a 25-member statewide committee is looking at the issue of workforce development in the addiction-treatment field. The panel hopes to make recommendations to the state legislature on issue such as salaries and recruitment, in a field where some employees have not received cost-of-living increases in a decade. Starting salaries for counselors and case managers in Florida is about $23,000, and most counselors make under $35,000 despite years of experience and educational backgrounds that often include master's degrees.

"In many cases, addiction treatment agencies are becoming the training ground for other agencies," said John Daigle, executive director for the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association, which represents treatment providers.

"We're always at the bottom of the pecking order because as much money as possible needs to go to the service system," added Randy Croy, 55, executive director of Serenity House, which had a 40-percent staff turnover last year. Croy said that state reimbursement for services has stayed flat while costs have risen, and that his agency cannot afford raises above 3 percent annually.

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