The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse Supports the Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Act
GCSA Calls on Senators Ossoff and Warnock to Co-Sponsor
The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse supports the bipartisan Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Act and encourages Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock to sign on as Co-Sponsors.
The Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Act reauthorizes and strengthens the Substance Abuse Block Grant program, including requiring that funding goes to evidence-based services, including medication-assisted treatment.
The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse thanks U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) for their bipartisan legislation which will increase investments in substance misuse prevention, treatment, and recovery programs.
The Substance Abuse Block Grant program is set to expire at the end of 2022. In addition to reauthorizing the program, the bipartisan Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Act strengthens the Substance Abuse Block Grant program in a number of ways, including by:
- Increasing potential funding for the program from $1.9 billion to $3.2 billion;
- Creating a 10% set-aside for recovery services – the program currently includes a 20% set-aside for prevention services;
- Barring funds from going to recovery programs that are not evidence-based. For instance, organizations that refuse to serve individuals receiving medication-assisted treatment – which is the gold standard for opioid use disorder treatment – would not be able to receive funding.
“Georgia is facing an epidemic surrounding substance misuse, overdoses, and new cases of substance use disorders. It is not an exaggeration to say that everyone in our State has been touched by this epidemic, so we need Congress to respond by strengthening prevention, treatment, and recovery programs. It is critical Congress increase investments in addressing substance misuse and ensure that we specifically support recovery and proven peer led programs of all kinds,” said Neil Campbell, Executive Director, Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
“The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse calls on Senator Jon Ossoff and Senator Raphael Warnock to Co-Sponsor the bipartisan Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Act. Georgia needs Congress to support every effective tool which protects our communities against harmful. It is essential that Congress support long term dedicated recovery funding,” said Jeff Breedlove, Chief of Policy and Communications Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
For Additional Information
Jeff Breedlove
Chief of Policy and Communications
Georgia Council on Substance Abuse
404-615-5735
jeff@gc4recovery.org
