CHANGES IN DRUG TREATMENT SERVICES ARE A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN

Ty Neal might be alive today had he been able to get into a drug-treatment
program earlier this year.

When the state-mandated changes in such services take effect, the situation
for future Ty Neals may be even worse. Neal was one of the eight inmates
who died in May's fire at the Mitchell County Jail. He was awaiting trial
on a series of charges probably linked to his ongoing drug problem. Earlier
in the year, according to girlfriend Kim Jones, the two tried to get Neal
checked into a drug-treatment facility but could not do so because he had
no health insurance.

Generally speaking, an uninsured person without the money to pay for
treatment cannot get into a program until first getting into trouble with
the law. There is state money for people referred for treatment by Buncombe
County's Drug Court. But "state money keeps getting cut," said Barbara
Blanks, Drug Court coordinator. "We can only take so many cuts."

The situation promises to get even worse. The most affordable place for
drug treatment in Buncombe, Madison, Mitchell and Yancey counties has been
the Blue Ridge Center for Mental Health, Developmental

Disability and Substance Abuse Services. When the new system is in place,
however, Blue Ridge will cease to provide services but rather act as a
referral agency.

"This is a concern to us," Blanks said, "because Blue Ridge would see
people on a sliding (fee) scale."

With private providers, she said, treatment "definitely will be more
expensive .... That's going to be a different ball game."

Under the new system, Blue Ridge will expand its area to include Henderson,
Transylvania, Polk and Rutherford counties, while contracting with others
for the services it now provides. Blue Ridge is supposed to receive some
state money to pass on to private providers, but no one knows how much.

"It's going to cost $10,000 to $12,000 more a year than what we had been
paying to Blue Ridge," Blanks said. "It's just real frustrating right now."

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse estimates that 80
percent of those in prison have a serious alcohol or drug problem. Anything
that makes it harder to treat drug problems before someone gets into
serious trouble is not just frustrating, it's tragic.