"The Gateway" to Addiction Treatment

"The Gateway" to Addiction Treatment

A social service program known as "the gateway" to state-funded drug treatment centers in Texas could be eliminated due to budget cuts. The state’s Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral program (OSAR) plays an integral role in matching people in Texas with addiction treatment programs.

The Texas Department of State Health Services included cutting $3.8 million for the program. An additional $3.8 million in matching federal funds would also be lost.

The Recovery Resource Council in Fort Worth administers the outreach program in Tarrant County. Eric Niedermayer, the CEO, of the RRC, said the program allows his agency to assess the needs of patients and manage waiting lists for local drug treatment centers.

"It is one of our core functions," Niedermayer said. "For years, if someone had a drug or alcohol problem, the Resource Council has been the place to call. That function would suddenly be gone, and people would have to figure it out themselves."

As in many other states, drug treatment centers in Texas are facing a $7 million funding loss in 2011 because of a rollback in reimbursement rates for addiction services.

"We had very tough decisions to make," said Carrie Williams, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services. "We were trying to choose items that had the least direct impact on people. Given that [the outreach program is] for services corrdination, not treatment, it became one of the options."

The program services agencies in the 11 health service regions in Texas. Addiction treatment advocates fear that if people are responsible for finding drug treatment services by themselves, they are more likely to become frustrated and abandon their search for a drug treatment center.

"The OSAR is where people start their journey into getting treatment," said Cynthia Humphrey, executive director of the Association of Substance Abuse Programs. "Or where family members trying to get help for a loved one find the first warm hand in the community to guide them through the process. It is not just looking in the phone book."

In some parts of Texas, the outreach program is the only state addiction service available. The East Texas Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse provides services in 23 counties.

"It can be a small window of opportunity when someone with an addiction is ready to take the step and get help<’ said Susan Morgan, the executive director of the agency. "They’re a vulnerable population and, when they take that step, it’s important to get the appropriate response."

Treatment providers are asking Texans to join the fight to spare the vital program.

"We’re certainly going to fight this," Humphrey said. "Cutting another $4 million from what is already a bare-bones system to treat addiction is another cut that we cannot afford."