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Budget woes may force some drug treatment centers to close Thursday, Jun 12, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A budget crunch at Arkansas' 27 drug treatment centers could force some to lay off workers and shut down within the next few years if state funding does not increase, a legislative panel heard Wednesday. "At the rate we're going now, the substance abuse providers we have in the field, we will lose five within the next five years. Twenty-five percent of those agencies will have to close their doors because they can't continue to operate," said Jim Clark, vice president of addiction treatment services for Batesville-based Health Resources of Arkansas. Clark testified before a joint meeting of the Senate and House committees on public health, welfare and labor, which have been conducting an interim study on funding for substance abuse treatment. Garland "Sonny" Ferguson, director of treatment services for the state Division of Behavioral Health, said state funding for substance abuse treatment has not increased since 1995, despite rising costs. Most of the $13 million treatment providers receive each year comes from the federal government. The state funding comes from fines, court costs and less than $3 million in general revenue annually. The state funds 970 of the 2,075 available slots at state-licensed treatment centers. Ferguson said a survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimated that 269,578 Arkansans have substance abuse problems. At current funding levels, drug treatment providers are able to serve between 16,000 and 17,000 people, or about 6 percent of the addicted population, he said. A task force recommended in 2006 that the Legislature pass an alcohol tax to pay for a funding increase for substance abuse treatment, but the tax failed to pass during the 2007 legislative session. "What would be sufficient funding for your provider services, and to make this a more successful and useful program for Arkansas?" asked Rep. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff. "The bad thing about this is, I did a projection and probably you're talking $10 million to clean the system up and make it right," Ferguson said. But Ferguson said any increase would help treatment providers deal with the budget crunch. He predicted at least one facility would close within 13 to 14 months without more funding. Drug abuse treatment is not free in Arkansas; treatment centers generally charge patients according to their ability to pay. Arkansas' Medicaid program does not cover substance abuse treatment, though states have that option. Cindy Crone, director of family treatment consultation for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, said the state should provide Medicaid coverage for substance abuse treatment and should provide family-oriented treatment so fewer families have to be separated. Under a 2005 law known as Garrett's Law, medical personnel are required to contact authorities when a newborn infant tests positive for illegal drugs or has health problems related to the mother's drug use. During its first year of implementation, a third of mothers affected by the law had their children removed by the state, but fewer than one in five received drug treatment, Crone said. "Instead of paying foster care, it would cost less to pay for treatment, and we'd have better outcomes," she said. Rep. Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne, the House committee's chairman, agreed with the witnesses that the Legislature should take action on drug treatment. "We definitely are not properly funding it," he said. |
