ADMS Block Grant

Drug Treatment Services Could Be Improved by New Accountability Program Gao ID: HRD-92-27 October 17, 1991

Congress receives limited information on the results of states' drug abuse treatment services funded by the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Services (ADMS) Block Grant. In examining how states implemented a 1988 ADMS requirement to obtain peer reviews of their drug treatment services, GAO reviewed 10 states' ADMS-related documents and interviewed federal and state officials involved in administering ADMS funds. GAO recommends that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) establish reporting requirements that will provide HHS with information on whether states are providing effective drug treatment programs and services. In addition, HHS should report to Congress by 1995 on the progress of a program by the Office of Treatment Improvement, created in 1990 to enhance states' use of the ADMS Block Grant. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: ADMS Block Grant: Drug Treatment Services Could Be Improved by New Accountability Program, by Mark V. Nadel, Associate Director for National and Public Health Issues, before the House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. GAO/T-HRD-92-4, Oct. 17, 1991 (10 pages).

GAO found that: (1) Congress receives limited information on the results of federal investment in drug treatment services; (2) although most of the 10 states reviewed monitor administrative processes, their review activities have not provided information on the quality and appropriateness of drug treatment; (3) state annual reports vary significantly in the information provided on drug treatment services, making comparisons or assessments of federally supported drug treatment services difficult; (4) the Office for Treatment Improvement (OTI) has developed a program to develop federal drug treatment program guidelines, institute federal performance reviews of state substance abuse agencies and drug treatment programs, provide technical assistance to states and providers as part of those reviews, and collect more detailed information on what states will do and have done with ADMS Block Grant funds; and (5) under HHS policy, states are not required to undertake any of the proposed OTI program elements, which may limit the program's success.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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