Requires mental health evaluations for participants in substance use disorder treatment programs

Showing the cosponsors who are on Agora, A to Z. The official record may list more.

• Democratic2
• Republican1

This bill has cosponsors from more than one party.

Shown in neutral colors by design; Agora is non-partisan.

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why James Sanders Jr. says this is needed

More than 25 years ago Woody and Blaine (1979) drew attention to an emerging literature describing a relationship between mental health problems (depression) and substance use disorders among substance use treatment clients; however the effort to develop an effective response to mental health problems is a more recent, if increasingly emphasized, concern of substance use treatments. Reports from treatment programs of lifetime evidence of co-occurring disorder have varied widely but have generally involved high estimates of COD (Cacciola, Alterman, McKay, & Rutherford, 2001). As summarized by Sacks & Ries (see Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2005), investi- gators describing substance abuse treatment client populations during the decades of the 1980s and 1990s, have reported 50 to 70% of their clients showing lifetime histories of co-occurring disorders, while investigators, describing mental health treatment populations during the same period, have reported 20% to 50% of their clients showing lifetime histories of substance use disorders. Recent studies of treatment programs and clients have supported these earlier estimates. McGovern, Xie, Segal, Siembab, and Drake (2006) surveyed addiction treatment agency directors, clinical supervisors, and clinicians in a single state system about co-occurring disorders among their clientele. They found overall estimates of 41% mood disorders, 26% anxiety disorders, 25% PTSD, 17% severe mental illness, 18% antisocial personality disorder, and 17% borderline personality disorder. Watkins and colleagues screened admissions to three outpatient substance abuse treatment clinics and found that about 50% had co-occurring mental health disorders (Watkins et al., 2004). Havassy and colleagues reported a comparably high prevalence of substance use disorders among admissions to mental health programs (Havassy, Alvidrez, & Owen, 2004). These find- ings have suggested that clinical practices restricted to services appropriate to a single disorder can be inappropriate to the needs of a large number of clients entering both substance use treatment and mental health programs, and that modifications to services appropriate to the needs of individuals with co-occurring disorders may be needed (Minkoff & Cline, 2004)(1). According to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the treatment of both disorders leads to better outcomes, including the following: Reduced or discontinued substance use, improvement in psychiatric symp- toms and functioning, increased chance for successful treatment and recovery for both disorders, improved quality of life, decreased hospi- talization, reduced medication interactions, increased housing stability and fewer arrests. This opinion is also supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Many individuals who develop substance use disorders (SUD) are also diagnosed with mental disorders, and vice versa. Multiple national popu- lation surveys have found that about half of those who experience a mental illness during their lives will also experience a substance use disorder and vice versa (3)." The institute expands on this opinion specifically as it relates to adolescents "the onset of mental illness and substance use disorders often occurs during adolescence, and people who develop problems earlier typically have a greater risk for severe problems as adults2"..."Given the high prevalence of comorbid mental disorders and their adverse impact on SUD treatment outcomes, SUD programs for adolescents should screen for comorbid mental disorders and provide treatment as appropri- ate (3)". New York State is far behind in the treatment, or even the diagnoses, of co-occurring disorders (COD) as they relate to substance use disorder (SUD). If our treatment programs, from the outset, determine if there is a COD, the treatment of both disorders can begin immediately. We also need to have the workforce capac

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.