News Release

Nearly Half of People Receiving Addiction Treatment Were Involved in Both Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Annual Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities Released

Nearly half of all 1.1 million people receiving treatment for drug or alcohol addiction were in treatment for both drug and alcohol abuse according to the 2002 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services released today by HHS’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). 

The survey of treatment services shows that there were 1,136,287 persons receiving substance abuse treatment on a typical day in 2002.  Of these, 8 percent, 91,851, were under age 18.  The lowest percentage, 21 percent, were in treatment for alcohol abuse alone, while 31 percent were being treated for only drug abuse and 48 percent were being treated for both.  The survey was taken on March 29, 2002.

John Walters, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said: “We understand that drug addiction is a disease, but we also know that drug treatment works.  That is why President Bush has provided such an historic level of leadership in working to expand treatment availability for those who have become enslaved by drugs and alcohol.”

 “This survey tells us where the substance abuse treatment system is going, to help us analyze system trends and forecast resource requirements,” said SAMHSA Administrator Charles G. Curie.  “At SAMHSA, building treatment capacity is a top priority.  We are hopeful that the President’s Access to Recovery program will be funded to allow an additional 100,000 people to enter treatment and rebuild their lives.” 

The purpose of the annual National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) is to collect data on the location, characteristics, and use of alcoholism and drug treatment facilities and services throughout the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and other U.S. jurisdictions.  In 2002, a total of 13,720 facilities, 96 percent of eligible facilities, participated in the survey. 

The N-SSATS survey found that nearly half of all facilities, 49 percent, offered special programs for those diagnosed with co-occurring substance abuse and mental disorders.  Over one-third of facilities, 37 percent, provided programs to treat adolescents.  Special programs or groups for drugged or drunk-driving offenders were offered by 35 percent of facilities.

According to the survey, outpatient treatment was the most widely available type of care with 74 percent of facilities offering this level of care.  Most of the patients in treatment on the survey date (90 percent) were enrolled in some type of outpatient care.  Of these, 54 percent were in regular outpatient care.  More intensive outpatient care was offered by 44 percent of facilities and was the mode of care for 12 percent of patients.  Day treatment/partial hospitalization services were offered by 15 percent of all facilities, and these services treated  three percent of patients.  Outpatient detoxification was offered by 12 percent of facilities and treated two percent of patients. Opioid treatment programs were offered by 8 percent of facilities and 19 percent of all clients received outpatient methadone/LAAM maintenance at these facilities. 

Residential detoxification was offered by 8 percent and hospital inpatient detoxification was offered by 7 percent, and each mode treated less than one percent of clients.  About 8 percent of patients were in residential rehabilitation and less than one percent were in hospital inpatient rehabilitation. 

Private non-profit facilities make up the bulk of the treatment system (61 percent) with private for-profit accounting for another 25 percent.  State or local governments own 11 percent of treatment facilities and the federal government owns 2 percent.  Tribal governments own one percent of reporting facilities.

The data show that programs or groups for women only are available in 38 percent of facilities, while 30 percent of facilities provide programs for men only.  About 14 percent of facilities have programs for seniors and older adults and 13 percent have programs for gays and lesbians. 

N-SSATS is also used to update SAMHSA’s Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator, available at http://findtreatment.samhsa.gov.  The locator service provides the phone numbers and locations of the nearest state approved treatment facilities.

SAMHSA is a public health agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The agency is responsible for accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation’s substance abuse prevention, addictions treatment and mental health service delivery systems.

 

This page was last updated on 02 October, 2003
SAMHSA is An Agency of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services