HHS Awards $42.1 Million for Substance Abuse Treatment
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
October 5, 2001

AHHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced a series of grants to communities and local governments totaling $42.1 million to increase the availability of alcohol and drug abuse treatment services.

"There's no question that treatment provides people in need with a second chance, and we need to do everything we can to give them that opportunity to rebuild their lives," Secretary Thompson said. "These grants will help local communities address substance abuse treatment needs at the earliest possible stages."

Of the total funding awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), $13.1 million was awarded to 29 communities to increase substance abuse treatment capacity.

Additionally, $29 million was awarded to address the specific needs of youth, homeless and minority groups, including: * $3.5 million for seven communities to provide substance abuse treatment services in minority organizations and reduce disparities in access to care;

* $2.9 million to four communities to strengthen their drug and alcohol identification, referral and treatment systems for youth;
* $9.8 million for 17 communities to expand their drug and alcohol treatment and mental health systems for the homeless;
* $11 million to 24 communities to reduce the spread of substance abuse related HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases in African-American, Latino/Hispanic, and other racial/ethnic minority communities; and
* $1.8 million to 13 American Indian/Alaska Native tribal governments and organizations to integrate substance abuse treatment with mental health, primary care and other public health in these communities.

"These grants were designed to help address the regional nature and shifting trends in substance abuse and resulting changes in treatment needs," said Acting SAMHSA Administrator Joseph H. Autry III, M.D. "Mayors, town and county officials, and Indian Tribal Governments have emphasized the need for federal leadership in providing a rapid and strategic response to the demand for services that are regional or local in nature."

"The future of children, minority populations, men or women who have been released from jails and prisons, adolescents, the homeless and individuals who are at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS can be jeopardized by their addictions," said CSAT Director H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., M.P.H. "Effective, timely treatment can be the answer to full, productive lives. Our grants address their specific needs through culturally relevant community-based treatment programs."