TOWARD A DRUG-ABUSE TREATMENT SYSTEM

Drug treatment in the United States has been fragmented, underfunded, less than comprehensive, and poorly planned and integrated. To bring a bout a significant improvement in the number of drug abusers who recei ve treatment and in the effectiveness of the treatment they receive, t he current fragmented approach needs to be replaced with an integrated , coherent system of drug treatment. This paper discusses the characte ristics of a drug treatment system and focuses on two elements of such a system: the use of the health care and criminal justice systems as locations to identify persons in need of drug treatment, and matching clients with appropriate services to improve treatment effectiveness. The paper also discusses several issues that will need to be addressed in developing a drug treatment system, offers examples at the federal , state, and local levels indicative of trends in the direction of a s ystems approach to drug treatment, and emphasizes the importance of fe deral leadership in systems development.