Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, Office of

Agency Web Site: http://www.oasas.ny.gov/

Mission

The mission of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) is to improve the lives of all New Yorkers by leading a comprehensive premier system of addiction services for prevention, treatment, and recovery.

Budget Highlights

The FY 2017 Executive Budget recommends $616 million in All Funds appropriations, including $474 million for Aid to Localities, $120 million for State Operations and $23 million for Capital Projects. This represents an increase of $17 million from FY 2016. The new funding will be used to combat the growing heroin and opioid epidemic in communities across the State and to renovate and modernize the State-Operated Addiction Treatment Centers. The Executive Budget recommends a total workforce of 741 full time equivalent employees, the same level as FY 2016.

The Executive Budget supports OASAS' continued efforts to better serve individuals with dependencies on alcohol and chemical substances, and in providing appropriate services to those experiencing problem gambling issues. Specifically, the budget will include:

• $141 million in funding to address the growing heroin and opiate epidemic in communities across the State; this reflects an increase of $6 million from FY 2016. These funds will continue to support prevention, treatment and recovery programs targeted toward chemical dependency, residential service opportunities, and public awareness and education activities. Specifically, the funding will enable OASAS to implement the following initiatives:

o Family Support Navigators -- who will assist New Yorkers and their families with navigating the insurance and OASAS treatment systems;

o On-Call Peers -- who will be available to assist individuals who are in need of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) treatment with making the connection from hospital emergency rooms to the OASAS treatment system;

o Adolescent Clubhouses -- which will provide safe, welcoming spaces for teens and young adults who are in recovery or are at-risk for SUD to develop social skills that promote long-term health, wellness, recovery and a drug-free lifestyle;

o Recovery Community and Outreach Centers – which are designed to provide recovery supports in a comfortable environment to individuals and their families that are in, or seeking, recovery from SUDs. The centers provide information and education on how to access treatment supports and wellness activities, and they extend peer supports and volunteers to assist in all areas of the Center's operations;

o Treatment Availability Tool – which will allow New Yorkers to search (in real time) for available treatment statewide; and

o Kitchen Table Toolkit and Talk2Prevent – The Kitchen Table Toolkit features videos which can be used by parents, teachers and community members to help begin conversations with youth concerning the health risks and dangerous consequences of heroin and prescription painkiller abuse. Talk2Prevent is designed to help New Yorkers talk early and often with your kids regarding alcohol and its dangers.

• $7 million in new Medicaid rate enhancements to stabilize providers as they transition to managed care, including those that operate Free Standing Inpatient Alcohol Rehabilitation, Residential Rehabilitation Services for Youth, Article 32 Residential Detox, and Article 32 Outpatient Detox services;
• $7 million in new funding for 300 new beds scheduled to be developed over the next two years. This includes 170 new congregate care beds associated with the NY/NY III program and 130 new beds in Suffolk, Albany, Westchester, and counties in the Southern Tier of the State to support the Governor’s Combat Heroin initiative; and
• $2 million in new capital funding to purchase synthetic drug testing devices to be used by State Police and local law enforcement officials. These portable, hand-held machines can instantly analyze unknown substances and determine if they contain any dangerous synthetic drugs or any other substance which will enable officers to more accurately distinguish between symptoms of drug use and those experiencing non-drug induced psychotic episodes. This will further enable quicker treatment of these individuals if they are admitted to a hospital.

In addition, OASAS will continue to implement a redesign of residential treatment capacity which creates flexibility within the system to allow providers to serve individuals in need of short-term and long-term treatment as they detox from heroin and prescription painkillers.

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Mental Hygiene (PDF)

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/13/2016

Click for additional detailed appropriation tables