0555b664__Alcohol_and_Other_Drug_Issues__Program_Improvement_Plan__PIP_
[State] Vermont Throughout the State there is a serious lack of services, particularly outpatient therapy (due in part to a lack of qualified therapists who take Medicaid) and substance abuse services. There is a need for more services and the Department has been working with the Office of Drug and Alcohol programs to address some of these needs. Staff in general indicated that community services are of high quality however they identified the lack of availability of services such as substance abuse services and qualified therapists as a problem. An Area Needing Improvement rating was given for risk of harm to child because reviewers saw a focus on the child's behaviors, despite ongoing family issues involving parental substance abuse, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. All three sites described older youth in foster care as having more complex needs, such as behavioral problems, substance abuse issues, and/or severe mental health needs that are difficult for foster parents and group home staff to manage. On measures of youth in 2000 were shown to demonstrate more difficult behaviors and to face more serious challenges in substance abuse, more school issues, poorer parental control, etc. than in prior years. SRS is currently contracting for an additional residential substance abuse program for adolescent males. Substance abuse treatment is not sufficiently available. Recent attention has been focused on the need for substance abuse treatment, particularly for adolescents. Stakeholders reported that additional services for adolescents were needed, including supervised transitional living facilities, emergency shelters for youth picked up after business hours, foster care placement providers for youth, and substance abuse treatment for adolescent girls. Training issues found that substance abuse certification training and advanced investigative training are viewed as standouts. Service gaps were most frequently identified for mental health services, psychiatric evaluations, substance abuse treatment; residential treatment for seriously emotionally disturbed children, sex offender treatment and culturally relevant services for the growing refugee population.
No mention
A Review of Alcohol and Other Drug Issues
Program Improvement Plan (PIP)