LACK OF OPENINGS IN TREATMENT CENTERS LEAVE HUNDREDS WAITING

About 600 people a day are on a waiting list for treatment of alcohol and
substance abuse because of lack of openings in programs, according to an
official with the Illinois Department of Human Services.

But Melanie Whittier of the Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse said
Illinoisians who need treatment are not alone in their wait.

"Every state in the nation has waiting lists," Whittier said. "There's a
huge demand for treatment."

Whittier's office contracts with communtiy-based organizations to provide
treatment to the working poor, welfare recipients, Medicaid patients and
referrals from the Department of Children and Family Services. Treatment
includes such options as detoxification, intensive residential programs and
outpatient counseling.

Whittier could not say how many people annually are on the waiting lists,
but Tom Murphy of Peoria said any figure is too much.

As chief of operations at White Oaks treatment centers, Murphy said
potential clients are waiting an average of 40 days before being admitted
to either a residential or outpatient program.

"You've got to strike while the iron is hot or you lose the person for
another year," Murphy said. "The best thing about treatment is it gets it
done sooner -- sooner than the car wreck, sooner thatn the jail time,
sooner than the divorce, sooner than the serious physical illness."

Murphy said 21 men and eight women are waiting for an opening in the 67
available beds, while 18 adults are waiting for a slot in the intensive
outpatient treatment program. Patients whose treatment is paid with state,
federal of grant dollars make up about 70 percent of his client base, with
a private-pay and insured patients making up the remaining 30 percent.

Treatment advocates acknowledge that the possibility of additional funing
is slim as the state grapples with a deficit that Gov. Rod Blagojevich
estimates at $4.8 billion. However, Sara Moscato of the Illinois
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence Association said prevention and treatment
make good financial sense.

"For every dollar we spend, we're saving almost $11 on the back end,"
Moscato said Monday at a Statehouse news conference, noting that savings
occur in the criminal justice system.

Moscato pointed to an IADDA survey of 500 registered voters that found that
85 percent agree that drug and alcohol addiction is a public health problem
handled better by prevention and treatment programs than by the criminal
justice system. Moscato said 74 percent of those surveyed said treatment
is the best way to deal with drug users who commit nonviolent crimes, while
9 percent said prison is the best option.

For the fiscal year ending June 30, the Office of Alcohol and Substance
Abuse's budget for treatment totaled $230 million in state and federal
funds, with $155 million garnered from the state's general revenue
fund. Last year, the state treated 86,700 people for alcohol and substance
abuse.