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May 14, 2007 |
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Gov.’s
May Revise Asks Counties to Provide
Drug Treatment with Fewer Resources
Prop. 36 Has Graduated Over
70,000 and Saved $1.7 Billion
Program
Needs $109 Million More to Provide
Adequate Services
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| Contact:
Dave Fratello (310) 394-2952 or Margaret
Dooley (858) 336-3685 |
SACRAMENTO, May 14 –
In response to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s
revised state budget proposal released
today, drug treatment advocates noted
the under funding of California’s
voter-approved, treatment-instead-of-incarceration
law.
The May revise left intact
the governor’s January proposal,
which proposes slashing Prop. 36 funding
by $25 million to $120 million, and requiring
that half of the funding ($60 million)
be dispersed through the “Offender
Treatment Program”—a separate
funding stream subject to all the requirements
and protections of the program, but which
also requires $1-$9 county matching and
a redundant application process.
Margaret Dooley, Prop.
36 coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance,
said, “Researchers continue to tell
us that, to improve Prop. 36 outcomes
and taxpayer savings, Prop. 36 services
need to be expanded so that participants
get the care they need to achieve real,
lasting success. Now that the budget is
in the legislators’ hands, we hope
they will recognize that counties cannot
provide more and better services with
fewer resources.”
In a recent analysis,
researchers at UCLA found that Prop. 36
requires at least $228.6 million—$109
million more than the current proposal—to
provide minimal, adequate treatment and
to generate even greater cost savings.
Researchers found that average stays in
treatment are shorter in Prop. 36 than
in similar systems because the program
is under-funded. Also, many people receive
inadequate, less expensive treatment placements
and have little probation supervision
during their stays.
Dr Ralph Armstrong, an
addiction specialist in Ventura and a
former psychiatrist for Prop. 36 in Ventura
County, said, “My own experience
shows, and all the scientific evidence
out there supports the conclusion, that
addiction is treatable. It is imperative
to fund Prop. 36 drug treatment adequately
in order to give people the treatment
services they need.”
Nikos Leverenz, director
of the Drug Policy Alliance Sacramento
office, said, “We are glad that
the governor recognized the importance
of Prop. 36 in saving taxpayers substantial
sums of money while also turning around
tens of thousands of lives. We hope that
the Legislature will build upon that commitment
in order to meet actual drug treatment
needs.”
Proposition
36 Fact Sheet
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