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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Substance abuse treatment budget set

Legislative budget writers have approved the budget for statewide substance abuse services on a unanimous, 19-0 vote, but not without some concerns being expressed. Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, asked about waiting lists for the services. Kathy Skippen, program manager, told JFAC that the state has stopped keeping waiting lists, "Because we were putting people on a waiting list with the expectation that they would get into treatment, knowing that they wouldn't. ... We certainly understand that there is a considerable need in the state for substance abuse treatment that isn't being met." Priority, she said, goes to "the need in the criminal justice system."

The budget approved by JFAC shows big decreases, but that's only because the various components of the substance abuse budget are being transferred into individual agencies, including corrections, juvenile corrections, drug courts and Health & Welfare, rather than continuing to be consolidated under the Interagency Committee on Substance Abuse, which is expiring. Legislative budget analyst Amy Johnson said the funding for the services actually ends up identical to this year, except that it includes an additional $2.5 million in federal funds under the Access to Recovery grant.

The budget was the second set today within the Department of Health & Welfare, which is divided into 12 divisions for budget-setting purposes; the largest, by far, is Medicaid, the budget that was set first.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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