Survey: Nearly Half in Treatment for Both Drug and Alcohol Abuse
According to the 2002 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment
Services by SAMHSA's Office of Applied Studies, nearly half
of the more than 1.1 million people receiving treatment for addiction
were in treatment for both drug and alcohol abuse. In fact, 48 percent
of the 1,136,287 people receiving substance abuse treatment on a
typical day in 2002 were in treatment for both drug and alcohol
abuse—compared to 21 percent being treated for alcohol abuse
alone and 31 percent receiving treatment for drug abuse alone. Eight
percent of those receiving substance abuse treatment were under
age 18.
SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie, M.A., A.C.S.W., said, "This
survey tells us where the substance abuse treatment system is going,
to help us analyze system trends and forecast resource requirements.
At SAMHSA, building treatment capacity is a top priority. We are
hopeful that the President's Access to Recovery program will be
funded to allow an additional 100,000 people to enter treatment
and rebuild their lives."
The purpose of the survey is to collect data on where services
are offered, what types of services are available, and to what extent
alcohol and drug treatment facilities and services are used. The
survey covers all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and other
U.S. jurisdictions. In 2002, a total of 13,720 facilities—or
96 percent of eligible facilities—participated in the survey.
The survey found that nearly half of all facilities, 49 percent,
offered special programs for those diagnosed with co-occurring substance
abuse and mental disorders. Over one-third of facilities, 37 percent,
provided programs to treat adolescents. Special programs or groups
for drugged or drunk-driving offenders were offered by 35 percent
of facilities.
The survey also found that 81 percent of facilities offered outpatient
treatment, making it the most widely available type of care. In
fact, 90 percent of patients in treatment on the survey date (March
29, 2002) were enrolled in some type of outpatient care. Of these,
54 percent were in regular outpatient care.
Some patients, however, need more intensive treatment than traditional
outpatient care. Forty-four percent of the facilities surveyed offered
intensive outpatient care, and 12 percent of patients used these
services. Day treatment and partial hospitalization services were
offered by 15 percent of all facilities, and these services treated
3 percent of patients.
Opioid treatment programs were offered by 8 percent of facilities,
and 19 percent of all patients received outpatient methadone/LAAM
maintenance at these facilities.
Residential detoxification was offered by 8 percent and hospital
inpatient detoxification was offered by 7 percent, and each mode
treated less than 1 percent of patients. About 8 percent of patients
were in residential rehabilitation and less than 1 percent were
in hospital inpatient rehabilitation.
Private nonprofit facilities make up the bulk of the treatment
system (61 percent) with private for-profit accounting for another
25 percent. State or local governments own 11 percent of treatment
facilities and the Federal Government owns 2 percent. Tribal governments
own 1 percent of reporting facilities.
The data show that programs or groups for women only are available
in 38 percent of facilities, while 30 percent of facilities provide
programs for men only. About 14 percent of facilities have programs
for seniors and older adults and 13 percent have programs for gay
males and lesbians.
For information on where to find treatment centers in your community,
visit SAMHSA's Facility
Treatment Locator at http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov.
To obtain a copy of the report, National Survey of Substance
Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS): 2002, Data on Substance Abuse
Facilities, contact SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol
and Drug Information at P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20847-2345.
Telephone: 1 (800) 729-6686 (English and Spanish) or 1 (800) 487-4889
(TDD). The report
can also be downloaded from the SAMHSA Web site at www.drugabusestatistics.samhsa.gov.
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