FHA TO EVALUATE DRUG TREATMENT

A seven-month project to evaluate drug treatment programs will also
bring more services for teens into the Fraser Health Authority.

The FHA's evaluation project will closely look at which treatment
works for which teen using which drugs, said Sherry Mumford, the
health authority's additions leader.

The study is overdue, she said.

"We haven't had a study of this type since I can't remember and I've
been in this field for 15 years," said Mumford, who was a counsellor
in Hope for 12 years.

The study will help the FHA addictions teams determine where its
resources will be best directed, she said.

While the ratio of kids using drugs isn't necessarily growing in the
Lower Mainland, the population increase means there are more young
addicts.

In the past year, 1,200 youths came to the FHA for drug use
evaluation, treatment or information, Mumford said.

Abbotsford's youth outreach agency, Impact, which takes education
programs into schools and also offers group and individual counselling
to kids and families, will be one of the participating agencies.

Many of the FHA youth treatment programs are run by contracted
agencies, Mumford said.

The FHA will also fund six more treatment beds in the Burnaby area,
three for girls, three for boys, and two more intensive day treatment
programs, one in Fraser South and Fraser East, in the Chilliwack area.

The treatments deal primarily with helping youth change their
behavior, and not "detox" centres, Mumford explained.

The study will as well look at more practical aspects, such as how to
transport kids to urban treatment sites from smaller health authority
communities, she said.

Drug treatment staff will follow cases of youth aged up to 18. The
young participants will be asked to sign a consent form.

The FHA will create an evaluation report at the end of the study
period in March and interim reports along the way.

All participants will also have a follow-up three months after they
finish their treatment programs, said Mumford.

Currently, most treatment options for teens are as
outreach/outpatients, in intensive day treatment at a facility, or in
residential treatment, said Mumford.

The study will evaluate the success of those approaches, and the
success of client matching principles, she said.

In an era where 60 per cent of young users use more than one drug,
together or alternatively, evaluation and treatment gets complex, she
said.

"It's much more complicated and more dangerous for the users, and we
see a lot more medical intervention. You might see a youth using a
methamphetamine and then using some pot or alcohol to take the edge
off that," she said. Add concurrent disorders, such as schizophrenia
or attention deficient disorder, and treatment is more challenging.