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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS)
3has notified the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
4Association (IADDA) that all GRF funds for addiction prevention
5and treatment will be eliminated as of March 15, 2011; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Providers of addiction prevention and treatment
7services have been notified of these impending cuts with less
8than 30 days' notice; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Nearly 80% of the clients in the addiction
10treatment system are not eligible for Medicaid services and
11will not be able to access addiction treatment; and
 
12    WHEREAS, These cuts will result in an immediate loss of
13services for 55,830 treatment clients, and 229,536 youth will
14lose prevention services; and
 
15    WHEREAS, These cuts will shut down the State-funded
16addiction prevention and treatment system, resulting in a loss
17of more than 5,000 jobs; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The residual impact to the State's economy far
19exceeds the immediate impact that will occur on March 15, 2011;
20and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, 5,000 new unemployed staff will be an additional
2burden on the State's unemployment system; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse and Dependency
4Act mandates that DHS design, coordinate, and fund a
5comprehensive and coordinated community-based and culturally
6and gender-appropriate array of services throughout the State
7for the prevention, intervention, treatment, and
8rehabilitation of alcohol and other drug abuse and dependency
9that is accessible and addresses the needs of at-risk or
10addicted individuals and their families; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse and Dependency
12Act mandates that offenders have the right to an assessment and
13can be sentenced to treatment services in the community instead
14of being sent to prison; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Since 69% of African-Americans and 76% of Latinos
16rely on publicly funded treatment, these cuts will
17disproportionately affect minority communities; and
 
18    WHEREAS, These cuts will force Illinoisans with no access
19to addiction services to turn to local hospital emergency
20departments flooding emergency rooms, increasing wait times,
21and swelling medical costs; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Local law enforcement will bear the burden of
2coping with Illinoisans who need treatment but will instead end
3up in local jails or homeless because they have nowhere to
4turn; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Already overburdened local justice and social
6service systems will become overwhelmed with people locked out
7of critical treatment services; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The average cost of addiction treatment in
9Illinois is $4,425 per person; the average annual cost of
10incarceration is $21,911 per person; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Without funding for addiction prevention and
12treatment, costs associated with corrections will drastically
13increase; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Cuts will escalate domestic violence, child
15abuse, accidents, and fatalities; and
 
16    WHEREAS, DHS estimates 9,000 to 10,000 Illinois residents
17die each year from accidental injuries and 40% of these deaths
18are related to the use of alcohol; and
 
19    WHEREAS, $907 million (73%) of the total spending on child

 

 

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1welfare is spent as a result of untreated addiction; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder costs the State of
3Illinois an estimated $329 million dollars annually or $27
4million per month; and
 
5    WHEREAS, DHS estimates the annual Illinois statewide
6economic costs associated with alcohol, tobacco, and other
7drug-related mortality is in excess of $3.5 billion; and
 
8    WHEREAS, DHS estimates that over 60% of all State-funded
9addiction prevention programs are classified as
10evidence-based; and
 
11    WHEREAS, DHS has found the following outcomes are achieved
12in the prevention system:
13        (1) Increased alcohol, tobacco, and other drug
14    resistance skills among program participants;
15        (2) Increased perceptions that alcohol, tobacco, and
16    other drug use is harmful;
17        (3) Increased drug knowledge;
18        (4) Delayed alcohol use;
19        (5) Delayed intent to use alcohol and inhalants;
20        (6) Decreased perceptions that peers are using illicit
21    drugs;
22        (7) Decreased perceptions that adults are using

 

 

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1    illicit drugs; and
 
2    WHEREAS, DHS has implemented a system of performance-based
3contracts for addiction treatment that focuses on client
4engagement, retention in treatment, and continuity of care; and
 
5    WHEREAS, DHS has data confirming that more than 97% of all
6clients discharged from Illinois' treatment system are
7arrest-free as opposed to the national average of only 89% at
8discharge; and
 
9    WHEREAS, DHS has data confirming that more than 81% of all
10clients discharged from Illinois' treatment system are
11alcohol-free at discharge as compared to the national average
12of 80%; and
 
13    WHEREAS, DHS has data confirming that more than 74% of all
14clients discharged from Illinois' treatment system are
15drug-free at discharge, which is the same as the national
16average; and
 
17    WHEREAS, For every dollar spent on prevention, states save
18up to $10 in treatment and recovery costs alone; and
 
19    WHEREAS, For every dollar spent on treatment, the State
20saves up to $14 in healthcare, criminal justice, and child

 

 

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1welfare costs; therefore, be it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
3ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the General Assembly
4deems that these draconian cuts eliminating all non-Medicaid
5addiction treatment and prevention will decimate the Illinois
6system and are a violation of Section 25-5 of the Alcoholism
7and Other Drug Abuse and Dependency Act which provides that DHS
8"shall develop, fund and implement a comprehensive, statewide
9community-based system for the provision of a full array of
10intervention, treatment and aftercare for persons suffering
11from alcohol and other drug abuse and dependency"; and be it
12further
 
13    RESOLVED, That the elimination of State funding for
14addiction treatment and prevention shall be immediately
15halted; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution shall be
17delivered to the Governor and the Secretary of the Department
18of Human Services.