The first in a series by Cliff Lewis

NewsLanc recently interviewed Rick Kastner, Executive Director of the Lancaster County Drug and Alcohol Commission (LCDAC). The LCDAC exists to “provide high quality prevention/education programs and treatment services for uninsured and low income citizens.” Our discussion with Kastner revealed the many challenges facing both Lancaster’s drug and alcohol addicted residents and the systems that seek to help them.

On December 8, 2008, the Lancaster County Drug and Alcohol Commission (LCDAC) had to cease accepting new placements into rehab and halfway house (HH) programs. There will be no new admissions until the beginning of the next fiscal year, on July 1. Of course, the LCDAC, which has historically received scanty funding from its State and Federal sources, has had to block admission to these programs before—but only for about two months, not seven.

Detox treatments (often dealing with life-or-death situations) and outpatient treatment (often less expensive) have remained open for new admissions. But rehab and HH are generally considered the “bread and butter” of addiction treatment, and their temporary closing marks a severe reduction in LCDAC’s treatment services.

On July 1, when the LCDAC receives its new budget, the rehab and HH admissions will be reopened. But not for long. This next budget will likely be cut by at least 2%, but probably more. In the words of Kastner, “It’ll be a real victory if we only have that 2% cut.”

The actual rehab and HH facilities are still up and running, because people are also admitted through personal health insurance or public medical assistance: “The welfare card in Lancaster provides over $6 million in [drug and alcohol] treatment….So our office is not the only referral source in town to keep those beds filled.”

Unfortunately, there is one class of people that will not be offered many of those beds in the coming months: The “working poor.” This group includes those workers who do not qualify for public medical assistance, yet cannot afford the cost of health care. Those who can barely afford health care can rarely obtain a plan that would cover drug and alcohol treatment. The LCDAC would typically provide rehab or HH services to people in such circumstances, were it not for the current budget limitations.

When asked by NewsLanc whether a lengthy waiting list has been accrued for rehab and HH since December, Kastner replied candidly, “We don’t keep waiting lists because an addict doesn’t stay put long enough to really make a waiting list worthwhile…. Let’s say you want to buy a brand new car, and there’s a waiting list, like early on with some of the hybrids. When they call you at home, you’re probably going to answer the phone and say ‘Yeah, I still want the car’—at least most people would. With a heroin addict, or any addict,…they don’t sit put very long.”