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SAMHSA Radio News Line

Help Needed for the Helpers

Posted: August 20th, 2006, 5:00pm PDT

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(BEARD OPEN):
Experts say good substance abuse treatment services are dependent on the quantity and quality of the workforce--a sufficient number of individuals adequately trained to provide care. Doctor H. Westley Clark, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, within the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration--SAMHSA--says today's workforce is seriously threatened by four potent challenges.

(CLARK):
"Basically, we find that: One, we're losing a lot of people. Two, there are very poor salaries. Three, there's little room for upward mobility within the field. And, four, we've got an aging workforce that needs to have incentives, to encourage other people to enter it."

(BEARD CLOSE):
Doctor Clark says a major reason the substance abuse treatment workforce is in such a crisis is because of stigma surrounding addiction; he says this stigma can be overcome when individuals who are interested in the welfare of their community enhance their knowledge of addiction issues. To learn more about the substance abuse workforce, visit www.samhsa.gov. For the "SAMHSA Newsline", I'm Bill Beard.

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