SUMMIT BRINGS EMPLOYERS INTO SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISCUSSIONS

Industry, economic development leaders and others held a summit Thursday to
decide how to deal with employers' problems of finding drug-free workers.

First they heard an overview of the issues they would address from Bob
Rhoden, business services manager of Workforce Texoma, which convened the
summit.

Rhoden explained that Workforce Texoma had heard from area employers that
they were having big problems with prospective workers passing
pre-employment drug tests and with current workers flunking random drug
tests. The employers said they were frustrated with the lack of resources
available to help people back into productive society. After searching for
models other communities were using to address the problem and not finding
one, Rhoden said, they decided to call the summit.

The summit ended with participants agreeing to serve on one of two task
forces. The first will look at information from employers about their
policies; the types of resources they see a need for; and what improvement
they will require before allowing a person to re-test for a job. The other
group will look at what resources are available in the community, what are
needed, barriers to accessing them and developing a program that meets
those needs.

Rhoden presented a video of success stories that have come from the Star
Recovery Court, formerly called the Star Drug Court. The Court offers those
convicted of felony drug offenses a carrot-and-stick approach to remaining
drug-free and living a productive life.

The 18-month program requires drug tests five times a week in the
beginning, intensive counseling, entering a 12-step program, attending
Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous daily and getting a sponsor
through one of those organizations. Participants must work towards getting
and keeping jobs and completing education.

State District Judge Rayburn "Rim" Nall, who presides over the Star
Recovery Court, said that the program has been successful in many ways.

"We have a college graduate, a baby born to a drug-free mom, people who
have gotten their GEDs," Nall said. Although he had no statistics for money
saved in Grayson County, the state estimate, he said, is about $1.2
million. "Although I don't have a dollar amount locally, I think it's a
safe statement that it is saving money and freeing up other resources."

Kay Black, human resources and safety manager for Douglass Distributing and
Lone Star Foods, and John Kyker, one of Tyson Foods' human resources
managers, described the issues from employer perspectives.

Black said she has had family experience with someone fighting back from
substance abuse to get a job. Because of that, she said, she carefully
examines job applications and r/sum/s for signs that the person is
successfully recovering. When she is satisfied applicants are trying to
help themselves, she will give them a new chance.

"At Douglass Distributing and Lone Star Foods, we give them a second
chance," Black said. "Now I don't hire them at Douglass as a transport
truck driver, we ensure safety for the company and for the whole community,
but we do hire them at Lone Star Foods."

She said the pay isn't great, at $7 and hour, but it's a start on the road
back and higher than minimum wage. A second chance is what the people in
the video tape asked for and it's that with which Black also helps those at
Four Rivers Outreach Center. The Center is a half-way house and offers
other services to those recovering from substance abuse. It works closely
with Star Recovery Center.

Black said those who flunk a drug test at Lone Star Foods may try again in
a year to gain employment there.

Kyker said Tyson cares for its employees and wants them to be successful
workers. Whenever a person fails a pre-employment drug test or a drug test
given following an on-the-job accident or for reasonable suspicion, they
may try again in six weeks. He said Tyson offers a great employee
assistance program. The program will help the employee find a treatment
program and tries to help with costs if employee insurance doesn't cover
them. Tyson does not pay the employee for time off, even if they come to
the assistance program for help without being caught with a bad test, but
tries to assist them in finding funding.

"Most of them don't have the money to get treatment and to support
themselves while they're off," Kyker said. The six-week return period helps
them get back into making money faster. "But I don't think we see many of
them back again."

Robert Milan, who has a 30-year career in substance abuse counseling and
consulting with private groups and governments about substance abuse
issues, gave a broad-ranging overview of the task ahead of the group at the
summit. He described the issues involved in employers helping their workers
get back into the workforce.

Milan used the metaphor of a pregnancy "only because I can't think of a
better one" to help those looking for strategies define the scope of their
activities.

"As a doctor might have different advice and treatment for a woman in her
first trimester of pregnancy versus those in the third, you need to look at
how the issues differ from someone who's in early, mid and late stages of
substance abuse."

He said that he works with Goodyear tire manufacturer in Oklahoma that
invests heavily in its labor force. By the time a person is on the floor,
producing tires at optimum rate, Goodyear has invested $100,000 in time and
resources in him. They average about 10 employees a year that flunk drug
tests, representing a threat to a $1 million investment.

This company contracts with a substance abuse treatment hospital to care
for its workers for $58,000 a year. It keeps employees on salary while they
undergo treatment. The success rate is about eight of 10 still sober a year
after treatment. The company considers that it saves about $700,000 in the
deal, he said.

Of course those figures aren't nearly as dramatic when you're talking about
lower-paid and skilled workers. It's also a much trickier calculation when
you're developing strategies for those flunking pre-employment tests. The
costs to companies of not having full staffs and the costs to communities
of all the ills that come with substance abuse and families without
breadwinners are difficult to quantify.

A representative of Lakes Treatment Center said that although there is no
in-patient treatment program in this area, her company does provide five
hours a week to individuals needing out-patient treatment.

Grayson County Deputy Jay Whitney talked about the seriousness of the
substance abuse problem here and added that deputies see just about every
kind of substance imaginable. However, there are far fewer methamphetamine
labs locally because of legislation preventing the sale of sufficient
amounts of key ingredients.

Waymon McMackin, president of Pressco, explained his manufacturing
company's long-term program, Project Rio, of hiring those who need a second
chance. Among his regular workforce, he hires those with mental challenges,
recovering from substance abuse and who come out of prison or jail. They
must, of course, conform to all the other terms of working in his plant.
However, he has a policy of not even learning which of his workers are part
of the program when they come to work.

McMackin said, however, recently during an economic downturn he had to lay
off a lot of workers, an emotionally hard thing to do. Those with Project
Rio, he later learned, were the ones who shook his hand on the way out and
thanked him for giving them a chance.

That's what's ahead for the two task forces,: Find a "win-win" situation
for local employers and workers who are willing to strive for a sober and
productive life.

Anyone who would like to work toward these solutions should contact Rhoden
at Workforce Texoma.