R.I. to get $8.3M in federal drug-treatment aid

WARWICK – Rhode Island will receive $8.3 million over the next three years to help provide substance-abuse treatment and recovery services, according to a White House official who visited the state today to talk about the federal war on drugs.
The federal Access to Recovery grant will allow the governor’s office and the Division of Behavioral Healthcare at the R.I. Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals to establish the state’s first Access to Recovery program, Dr. Bertha K. Madras, deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said during her visit to Warwick.
Over the past five years, the nation has attained a 23-percent reduction in drug use by teens, Madras said in a statement. “Rhode Island is on the forefront of substance abuse prevention and recovery,” she added.
“By implementing an ATR program, [the state] can get help to those who need it most – through an individually-structured and organized treatment and recovery regimen – and help more Rhode Islanders achieve and maintain recovery from addiction.”
The Access to Recovery program provides federal money for community-based and faith-based care; it is administered by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Over the three years of the grant, the local program will assist about 3,400 people, Madras said. It will target offenders recently released from the Adult Correctional Institutions and the R.I. Training School for Youth, as well as parents and guardians involved with the R.I. Department of Children, Youth and Families.
“ATR increases the number of individuals in substance-use treatment and recovery by tailoring services to one’s own individual preferences – be it community-based or faith-based,” Madras said, and “allows communities to unite behind the holistic care and recovery of individuals in the greatest need.”
Since it was first announced by President George W. Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address, the federal Access to Recovery program has provided $300 million in federal grants to assist 170,000 citizens with substance-abuse treatment and recovery services. To learn more, visit www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov.