(Columbus, OH – October 12, 2010) A federally-supported alcohol and other drug treatment initiative that has helped thousands of former Ohio inmates achieve sobriety, obtain employment and secure housing as they transition from prison into to their home communities, will live on through at least 2014 thanks to a $13 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
SAMHSA officials recently notified the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services (ODADAS) that they have awarded funding to sustain and expand Ohio’s “Access to Recovery” (ATR) initiative for an additional four-years.
The announcement means Ohio can continue to build upon the success of the program, and expand the target population to include adolescent clients as well as expand the scope of services to include family counseling. In addition, Lorain County will join Cuyahoga, Mahoning, Stark and Summit Counties, as a participating county.
“ATR has already empowered more than 6,000 Ohioans toward healthy and productive citizenship by granting them greater treatment and recovery service access,” said ODADAS Director Angela Cornelius Dawson. “I am thrilled to extend this innovative program to even more individuals in need of access to treatment and recovery services.”
Launched in October 2007 with an original grant award of $13.9 million, Ohio’s ATR initiative has provided a wide range of addiction treatment and recovery support services, including temporary housing, job training, recovery support services and transportation assistance to clients in Cuyahoga, Mahoning, Stark and Summit counties. The program, which represents a unique partnership between Ohio’s alcohol and other drug addiction services system, faith-based providers and other community service organizations, has provided increased access and greater client choice with regard to addiction treatment and related recovery support services.
In the initial three-year funding phase, the program targeted criminal justice-involved adults. Toward the conclusion of the funding cycle, the program was expanded to serve members of the Ohio National Guard and other military personnel affected by substance abuse and addiction. All told, the program reached more than 6,400 Ohioans. In Round Two, ODADAS expects to serve more than 9,200 clients, including – for the first time – an estimated 600 adolescents. Grant administrators also expect to add 28 new faith-based and community service organizations and 12 additional treatment providers to the existing ATR network.
“Generating increased access to treatment for adolescents remains a top priority in Ohio. This funding will enable us to close a significant gap in treatment and recovery support services for this population,” said Director Dawson.
For more information on the ATR grant, visit: http://www.atr.samhsa.gov/ or the ATR link on the ODADAS website: http://www.odadas.ohio.gov/. Media Contact: Amanda Conn Starner, ODADAS chief of communications at (614) 644-8456 or connstarner@ada.ohio.gov
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