Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jan 2003
Source: Post-Standard, The (NY)
Copyright: 2003, Syracuse Post-Standard
Contact:  http://www.syracuse.com/poststandard/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/686
Author: Frank Brieaddy

REHABILITATION CENTERS WONDER IF BUSH PLAN CAN WORK

Religious Affiliation For Centers Appears To Run Counter To Court Decision

Both secular and religious providers of services to people with drug and 
alcohol addictions were wondering Tuesday how President Bush's proposal to 
offer vouchers for treatment would work in New York state, where providers 
of such services are licensed and closely monitored.

And a recent federal appeals court ruling on a rehabilitation program 
raises the question of whether Bush's proposal would survive a 
constitutional challenge.

In his State of the Union address, Bush called on Congress to authorize 
$200 million from which people in need of drug and alcohol rehabilitation 
would draw vouchers for use at any treatment center, even those with a 
primarily religious approach to the problem.

Currently, all addiction rehabilitation centers must be licensed in New 
York state. The state's Office of Drug and Alcohol Abuse recently warned 
all licensed providers to avoid incorporating religious beliefs in their 
treatments.

The warning resulted from a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 
1999 that an Orange County detoxification center violated the U.S. 
Constitution's separation of church and state by relying heavily on 
Alcoholics Anonymous methodology, which is religious in nature.

In a bulletin to providers last year, the state office wrote, "... The same 
constitutional concerns would apply to any approach, 12 step or otherwise, 
that has a sufficiently religious character. Government-funded providers 
should be cautious not to risk violation of the constitutional principle of 
separation of church and state."

Administrators of religious organizations that provide services to people 
with addictions - but are not state-licensed addiction treatment centers - 
were curious Tuesday about whether they would eventually be able to accept 
clients using the federal vouchers.

"We'll have to see how it rolls out," said Chasz Parker, executive director 
of the Rescue Mission, which houses and counsels scores of men with 
addiction problems, but sends them out for state-licensed treatment. 
"Granted, we are not a treatment provider, by New York state 
qualifications, but we're part of the treatment community."

Parker wondered whether the Rescue Mission could receive some of the new 
money working directly with the federal government, regardless of the 
mission's standing with state officials.

"Because no one's ever done it, I'm sure the questions are huge," he said.

Salvation Army Capt. Larry Schuse, who runs his agency's Adult 
Rehabilitation Center for 70 men and 30 women on Erie Boulevard East, said, 
"we have no clue" about whether the agency will seek any of the proposed 
new money for treatment. The center uses a religious and work therapy 
approach, with participants helping out at the Salvation Army's Thrift 
Store and warehouse.

"We've never accepted or sought (state) licensing," he said. And the 
Salvation Army has never used government money for its treatment programs.

"The Army has gone to great lengths to maintain its independence. First and 
foremost, we're a church," Schuse said. Robert V. Shear, president of the 
nonprofit Syracuse Behavioral Healthcare - a state-licensed provider of 
alcohol and drug rehabilitation - said the federal government doesn't have 
the authority to change the definition of addiction rehabilitation 
treatment in New York state.

He said New York's system of treatment centers and regulations are among 
the most advanced in the nation and certainly superior to Texas, the state 
Bush left behind to become president.

"The way we do things in New York state is infinitely more sophisticated 
than the way they do this in Texas," Shear said. The state Office of 
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services did not respond to an inquiry about 
how the president's proposal might be compatible with New York's addiction 
services system.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens