Alcohol, drug abuse focus of treatment

Spokane County began receiving more than $1.2 million in state funds last summer to expand its substance abuse treatment. Six months later, officials are trying to locate more low-income adults and youths who may be eligible for free treatment.

County officials have conducted outreaches in homeless shelters and low-income health clinics, among other places.

“Wherever we think the clients might be, that’s where we are going,” said Dan Finn, the county’s alcohol and drug coordinator. “We want to let the public know that we have these resources.”

The county says that historically, 80 percent of residents who needed and qualified for treatment could not receive it because of limited funding. That means Spokane County served only one-fifth of adults who have an addiction problem, Finn said.

“We have one of the biggest treatment gaps historically in the state,” Finn said. “It significantly increases the number of people who can be served.”

The money, which is part of a $37 million biennial statewide expansion of treatment, can be spent only on people eligible for Medicaid, the state-federal health program. Most of the state funding can be matched with federal dollars, Finn said.

The state funding allows the county to counsel 1,500 adults this year – about a 50 percent increase from the previous year.

The Washington Department of Social and Health Services expects to treat 18,000 additional Medicaid patients over two years. The treatment should save $31 million in medical care and nursing home services across the state, the agency said.

County Commissioner Mark Richard said the state funding will “provide some much needed relief to our judicial system, saving county residents significant money.”

The funding is focused on people who are elderly, blind, disabled or receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, the state welfare program.

For more information or a referral to a treatment center, contact the Alcohol/Drug 24-Hour Helpline at (800) 562-1240.