NEED FOR ADDICTION SERVICES EXCEEDS COUNTY AID

* More people are lining up for drug and alcohol treatment than
commissioners anticipated when the $10.8 million budget was drawn up

The number of people seeking help for drug or alcohol problems in Multnomah
County far outpaces the amount of money available to pay for treatment that
works.

And if county officials don't come up with a way to pay for improved
treatment programs, the system that deals with addicts could be in trouble.

The county's Board of Commissioners heard that message at a Tuesday briefing
on how its treatment programs operate.

"We need to find a way to stabilize the system," said Jim Peterson, the
county's addictions services manager. "The amount of funds available to us
has been reduced because of the number of people we have to serve. And now
we may be in a position where we're competing for the same money" with other
county departments.

Big gap in estimate

The county has budgeted about $10.8 million for residential and outpatient
treatment and other services for the 1998-99 fiscal year, which ends in
June.

That will enable officials to treat roughly 8,200 patients, Peterson said.
But officials predict that more than 11,000 people will seek treatment by
the end of the fiscal year.

The county relies on local, state and federal money to pay for the bulk of
its drug and alcohol treatment programs.

"It's not like we need more money to serve more people," Peterson said after
the briefing. "We need more money to serve the people we're seeing now. I'd
say we're at about 75 percent funded and dealing with the issues somewhat
adequately. What we really need to do is infuse more (money) into our
system."

And sometimes, he said, the treatment programs end up competing with the
county's Corrections Department for money.

Tuesday's briefing updated the board on changes being made within the
behavioral health department as a result of an audit last year.

The April 1998 audit found a series of deficiencies, including the need to
develop a system that better tracks people through treatment.

The board considered the financial predicament in the context of statistics
presented by Peterson and Floyd Martinez, the manager of the behavioral
health division, including:

* For every dollar local government spends on substance abuse treatment,
roughly $7 is saved in other areas.

* Intensive residential treatment is about seven times more cost effective
than jail time in reducing cocaine use.

* About one-third of children who are cared for by the state are taken from
their families because of their parents' alcohol or drug problems.

Some of the commissioners were surprised to hear that about 25 percent of
people who go through treatment aren't from Multnomah County. "If this is
the case, we may as well go back to a state-funded system," said
Commissioner Lisa Naito.

Commissioner Diane Linn expressed concern about the increase in treatment
cases. She said heroin is a particular problem in larger Northwest cities
such as Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle, which could lead to a
bigger problem in Oregon.

"We really need to keep our eyes on the prize and focus on getting more
resources for these kinds of problems," she said.

The board didn't come up with any concrete solutions, but members agreed to
examine where the money gets spent and how to identify areas that need more
help.

Martinez told the board that his department is in the midst of implementing
a number of changes recommended in the audit.

They include developing a clearer vision for the department, improving
day-to-day management and refining how the department coordinates with other
county agencies.

You can reach David Austin at 221-5383 or by e-mail at
davidaustin@news.oregonian.com.