Federal drug czar John Walters today is expected to announce a five-year, $14 million grant for emergency rooms and clinics in Denver and southeastern Colorado to identify and help substance abusers before they become addicts.
At least one as-yet-undetermined Denver public school- based clinic will be part of the innovative program, officials familiar with the grant said.
The plan is to get young abusers treatment and counseling to prevent addiction rather than rely on intervention programs geared toward the addict.
“With this major grant, we will partner with Colorado in a meaningful way to prevent the disease of addiction, particularly among our young people,” Walter said in a news release detailing today’s announcement, scheduled at Denver’s South High School.
Walters will also announce that three other states – Wisconsin, Florida and Massachusetts – are to receive similar funding, which comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Kerry Broderick of Denver Health Medical Center said the grant is not for drug testing but for screening, a brief, surveylike process designed to identify people with the potential for substance abuse.
“The beauty of this is catching individuals before they get too far into any addiction,” said Mary VanderWall, director of prevention services at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the Colorado Department of Human Services.
