REHABILITATION CENTERS WONDER IF BUSH PLAN CAN WORK

Religious Affiliation For Centers Appears To Run Counter To Court Decision

Both secular and religious providers of services to people with drug and
alcohol addictions were wondering Tuesday how President Bush's proposal to
offer vouchers for treatment would work in New York state, where providers
of such services are licensed and closely monitored.

And a recent federal appeals court ruling on a rehabilitation program
raises the question of whether Bush's proposal would survive a
constitutional challenge.

In his State of the Union address, Bush called on Congress to authorize
$200 million from which people in need of drug and alcohol rehabilitation
would draw vouchers for use at any treatment center, even those with a
primarily religious approach to the problem.

Currently, all addiction rehabilitation centers must be licensed in New
York state. The state's Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse recently warned
all licensed providers to avoid incorporating religious beliefs in their
treatments.

The warning resulted from a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in
1999 that an Orange County detoxification center violated the U.S.
Constitution's separation of church and state by relying heavily on
Alcoholics Anonymous methodology, which is religious in nature.

In a bulletin to providers last year, the state office wrote, "... The same
constitutional concerns would apply to any approach, 12 step or otherwise,
that has a sufficiently religious character. Government-funded providers
should be cautious not to risk violation of the constitutional principle of
separation of church and state."

Administrators of religious organizations that provide services to people
with addictions - but are not state-licensed addiction treatment centers -
were curious Tuesday about whether they would eventually be able to accept
clients using the federal vouchers.

"We'll have to see how it rolls out," said Chasz Parker, executive director
of the Rescue Mission, which houses and counsels scores of men with
addiction problems, but sends them out for state-licensed treatment.
"Granted, we are not a treatment provider, by New York state
qualifications, but we're part of the treatment community."

Parker wondered whether the Rescue Mission could receive some of the new
money working directly with the federal government, regardless of the
mission's standing with state officials.

"Because no one's ever done it, I'm sure the questions are huge," he said.

Salvation Army Capt. Larry Schuse, who runs his agency's Adult
Rehabilitation Center for 70 men and 30 women on Erie Boulevard East, said,
"we have no clue" about whether the agency will seek any of the proposed
new money for treatment. The center uses a religious and work therapy
approach, with participants helping out at the Salvation Army's Thrift
Store and warehouse.

"We've never accepted or sought (state) licensing," he said. And the
Salvation Army has never used government money for its treatment programs.

"The Army has gone to great lengths to maintain its independence. First and
foremost, we're a church," Schuse said. Robert V. Shear, president of the
nonprofit Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare - a state-licensed provider of
alcohol and drug rehabilitation - said the federal government doesn't have
the authority to change the definition of addiction rehabilitation
treatment in New York state.

He said New York's system of treatment centers and regulations are among
the most advanced in the nation and certainly superior to Texas, the state
Bush left behind to become president.

"The way we do things in New York state is infinitely more sophisticated
than the way they do this in Texas," Shear said. The state Office of
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services did not respond to an inquiry about
how the president's proposal might be compatible with New York's addiction
services system.