DRUG CZAR TOUTS VOUCHERS FOR TREATMENT

DOVER - President Bush's "drug czar," John P. Walters, visited the
Southeastern New Hampshire Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services facility
Monday to see how the state is combating substance-abuse. He also
spoke about the government's new drug voucher program, designed to
make treatment more widely available to addicts than it is now.

"There are living miracles here and in every community to show there's
a way out," Walters told patients and staff.

Many in the 40-person audience said they were honored to have Walters
visit the facility.

"It feels nice to have us on the map with this; to see the kind of
good work we're doing here in New Hampshire," said Dan Burnford,
director of the DWI program.

Southeastern N.H. Services is one of 25 treatment providers in the
state. It features both outpatient and inpatient treatment, and
education services.

Walters' visit was to tour the facility and speak with patients, but
also to discuss the newly enacted federal drug voucher program called
Access to Recovery.

Through the $100-million program, vouchers will be given to people to
use at a drug-treatment facility of their choice. All effective drug
programs, including those of faith-based organizations, will be
eligible to receive federal funds if the voucher holder opts for their
services.

Walters said President Bush established the voucher program to "close
the gap" between the 200,000 people a year who seek treatment and the
100,000 people of that group who are turned away because of lack of
space at a drug-or-alcohol facility.

According to the director of the State Office of Alcohol & Drug Abuse
Prevention, the center recently sent in its voucher application with a
request of $14.8 million.

"We're a state that could really demonstrate doubling of treatment
facilities if we receive the grant," Riley Regan said.

According to the center's treatment contracts administrator, Rosemary
Shannon, 20 out of 50 states will be funded through the $100-million
grant. States will be chosen near the end of the summer.

Regan explained the money would not go directly to treatment programs,
but to district courts or local health-care facilities who would be in
charge of giving out the vouchers. He said if New Hampshire receives
the grant he hopes a person's income would not affect whether or not
they receive a voucher.

"We think it would be discriminatory to ask one person for money and
not another," he said. "We try not to get into a money-based test
because the key of this is to get somebody into treatment."

Walters emphasized the flexibility of the voucher program for both the
treatment facility and the patients.

"In rural states like New Hampshire we'd like to encourage others to
provide different kinds of services closer to where people live," he
said.

With the money provided by the Access Recovery grant, Walters said
states can build upon the work they have already done.

"We're not starting from scratch," he said. "We have a fine
foundation, we have excellent facilities and excellent people."