The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse Congratulates President Joe Biden and Congress on Passage of the American Rescue Plan Act
The American Rescue Plan Act Provides Essential Funding for Peer Led Recovery
The American Rescue Plan Act Provides Essential Funding for Recovery Supports and Services. This funding will also help expand access to substance use treatment and prevention services, addiction workforce training, community behavioral and mental health services, including syringe service programs, and much more.
Specifically, President Biden’s American Rescue Plan will provide:
· $1,500,000,000 in funding for block grants for prevention and treatment of substance use disorders.
- $80,000,000 in funding for mental and behavioral health training for health care professions, paraprofessionals, and public safety officers.
- $20,000,000 in funding for education and awareness campaign encouraging healthy work conditions and use of mental and behavioral health services by health care professionals.
- $30,000,000 in funding for community-based funding for local substance use disorder services like syringe services programs and other harm reduction interventions.
- $50,000,000 in funding for community-based funding for local behavioral health needs.
“The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse thanks President Biden and Vice President Harris, members of Congress, as well as Regina LaBelle, Acting Director of National Drug Control Policy, and her team for including funding for recovery supports and services in the American Rescue Plan,” said Neil Campbell, Executive Director of the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
“This funding is essential to providing peer led programs and projects to work in local communities sustaining long term recovery, supporting families, and building a stronger peer workforce,” said Campbell.
The Georgia Council on Substance Abuse looks forward to working with Governor Brian Kemp, Commissioner Judy Fitzgerald and the team at the Georgia Department of Developmental Health and Disabilities, the bi-partisan members of the Georgia General Assembly Working Group on Addiction and Recovery to ensure this funding supports as many Georgians as possible, including prevention, treatment and recovery support programs and services in local communities across our State,” said Jeff Breedlove, Chief of Policy and Communications for the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse.
“Medical issues related to Substance Use Disorder, especially overdoses, were a crisis and epidemic before COVID-19, it has only gotten worse during the pandemic, and medical issues surrounding Substance Use Disorder will still be here long after Georgia flattens the COVID Curve,” said Breedlove
