G. Dean Austin,
Bureau Chief
Lucas State Ofc. Bldg.
321 E. 12th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 242-6514
The bureau licenses and monitors approximately 110 substance treatment programs, which include community-based, hospital-based, assessment and evaluation services, OWI correctional and correctional institutional programs. The bureau also licenses and monitors problem gambling treatment programs in Iowa.
Bureau professional staff provide technical assistance to programs in the general areas of clinical services, program administration and overall compliance with licensure standards. Staff also provide technical assistance in the utilization of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (PPC-2R) criteria which is required for placement and continued stay in the treatment of clients/patients.
Professional staff investigate complaints against substance abuse treatment and problem gambling treatment programs by conducting on-site investigations or resolving the issue through the program's internal grievance procedure.
Bureau staff maintains comprehensive listings of licensed programs, their status and available services. Bureau staff provides referral assistance to the general public and ancillary services to Opioid Addiction Treatment Programs such as the Iowa Central Opioid Addiction Treatment Registry service.
The state is divided into 22 service areas for substance abuse treatment , and into eleven service areas for problem gambling treatment... Iowa has operated substance abuse treatment services under a managed care system since SFY96, to administer public funds for substance abuse treatment through the Iowa Plan for Behavioral Health. The substance abuse treatment services system is currently administered by Magellan Behavioral Health Services, Magellan Behavioral Care of Iowa (MBCI), which contracts with licensed service providers, Department of Public Health and Medicaid-funded service providers, as well as Medicaid-only funded service providers. Problem gambling treatment services are administered through the Office of Gambling Treatment and Prevention, which receives its funding from the gambling treatment fund.
Using funding from the Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Mental Health Services block grant, state substance abuse appropriations, and Medicaid, all 99 Iowa counties provide substance abuse treatment.
Services are available to all Iowans regardless of their ability to pay, along with use of a sliding-fee schedule.
Community-based treatment programs provide a variety of services, including screening, evaluation, intake and assessment, treatment, continuing care, and follow-up services, plus detoxification (not funded by IDPH).
The Iowa State Board of Health defined catchment areas for substance abuse contract and funding. Although a continuum of care existed in many catchment areas, a minimum of one program in each area provided outpatient services.
Clients with special needs such as persons with disabilities or those speaking languages other than English are served via linkages with local and/or community providers meeting the special needs. Individualized client treatment care plans often included existing community resources for support services.
The bureau also includes a Health Facility Surveyor for the licensure of gambling treatment programs.
Health Facility Surveyors:
Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
Gambling Treatment Programs
Support Staff
Division Contracts and Fiscal Administration
Documents denoted by 
are available in Portable Document Format (.pdf).
Click here to test whether you have the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader installed on your system. If not, download and install the Acrobat® Reader from Adobe® to view these documents.
Online Resources:
Other Resources: