NCJ Number
202023
Date Published
2003
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This 2002 Annual Report of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse summarizes the Office’s accomplishments and challenges during the fiscal year.
Abstract
The report begins with a statement from the Director of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse (OSA), which summarizes the main accomplishments and challenges during 2002. Following this introduction is a statement of the revenues and expenditures, which both totaled $20,440,389 for fiscal year 2002. Brief descriptions are presented of workforce development, the improved OSA Web site, and contributions made to public education about substance abuse. The remainder of the report is divided into three sections: prevention, intervention, and treatment. The section on prevention describes the 2002 Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey and the new initiatives on curbing underage drinking, which include underage compliance checks on establishments that sell alcohol. Next is a description of how Maine’s Safe and Free Schools and Communities Program, which received $2,307,865 from the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. The Think Ahead media campaign to combat teenage drinking is described, as is the initiative called One ME – Stand United for Prevention, which works to reduce youth tobacco use and high-risk drinking. Finally, the establishment of the Higher Education Alcohol Prevention Project (HEAPP), with the help of $400,000 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), is described. The next section on intervention examines the Driver Education and Evaluation Program. The third section on treatment presents findings from the substance abuse treatment needs assessment and highlights from the treatment data system, which showed that there has been a 3.4 percent increase during the past year in clients seeking substance abuse treatment. The problem of an increase in drug overdoses during 2002 is discussed, followed by a description of the co-occurring disorders initiative. The report concludes with an update from the drug court and descriptions of criminal justice and corrections initiatives, child welfare initiatives, and the upcoming drug and alcohol treatment program designed by and for the Passamaquoddy Tribe.