Formed July 2012 | Employees Under 100 | |
Jurisdiction State government of Pennsylvania Headquarters 02 Kline Village, Suite B Harrisburg, PA 17104-1579
(717) 783-8200 Annual budget $41.860 million 2014-2015 fiscal year Agency executive Jennifer Smith, Acting Secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs | ||
The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs is a cabinet-level agency in the Government of Pennsylvania under Governor Tom Wolf. The objective of this department is to manage and distribute state and federal funds used to oversee alcohol and drug prevention, intervention and treatment services.
Contents
“The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs mission is to engage, coordinate and lead the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s effort to prevent and reduce drug, alcohol and gambling addiction and abuse; and to promote recovery, thereby reducing the human and economic impact of the disease.”
History
The Pennsylvania department of drug and alcohol programs formed in July 2012 due to the change in government proposed in Pennsylvania Act 50 in 2010. This department was originally under the department of health, but changed to its own organization to focus solely on drug and alcohol related addictions and problems. The company’s hard work was rewarded on June 27, 2012 when Garrison Gladfelter was presented with the Ketty award for the National Prevention Network (NPN). Since 1989, the Ketty Award has been awarded annually to NPN representatives who have made tremendous contributions to the network and to the field of substance use prevention. Their work continued to be noticed for on June 27, 2012, Gary Tennis received the national Ramstad award for outstanding leadership. More specifically, it was given to him “for his leadership in recovery support across Pennsylvania."
On August 21, 2015 the department of drug and alcohol formed Facebook and Twitter pages to keep up with the growing online population, in an effort to help others.
Services in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Program provides 42 Alcoholics Anonymous sites spanning most counties. A desire to stop drinking is the only requirement to becoming a member. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; they are self-supporting through their own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution and neither endorses nor opposes any causes.Their main focus is for its members to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety as well. For more information and locations go to the link provided in references.
They also provide 44 Narcotics Anonymous sites to assist in drug addictions as well. For more information on locations and procedures follow the link provided in references. Both organizations utilize a 12 step program which has been proven successful to those trying to remedy their addictions. DDAP provides access to programs such as the prescription drug take back program, overdose awareness, and information on rehab centers. One of their main projects, is to spread the knowledge and availability of Naloxone, which is a medication that can reverse an overdose caused by an Opioid drug overdose. They have made progress on this front by enacting ACT 139, which gives first responders, friends, and families access to the opioid overdose reversal medicine, this way more lives can be saved by a quicker treatment response.