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Dear all, and my apologies for the earlier cryptic message, which I was thinking was only going to Rowdy, rather than the whole list.
Certainly any TC closures are a concern, and the ATCA is mindful of the situation in South Australia as in other parts of Australia. I will be developing a response to the posting on Update, however I need to gather more information first. All Australian services have been in a difficult position of waiting to hear about funding for the coming year (commencing July 2012) from the Australian Government. This is an unforgiveable situation – with many services in the non-Government sector (residential and community-based) now looking at releasing staff as they cannot be sure if they will refunded. This is against a backdrop of all NGOs having to prepare submissions last year within a very short time frame – and submitted on 23 December. There was a commitment that funding decisions would be known by the end of March to allow 3 months to make any necessary adjustments in light of funding decisions – which may of course involve reduction to funding levels, or defunding of services. Our Government has committed to bring in the budget with a surplus rather than deficit – whatever the cost – and that has included reduced funding to health (ironical as that situation is – a health policy decision which increases ill health!)
Added to this is the unique Australian situation where some funding for health services, and particularly for alcohol and other drugs, comes from State and Territory Governments as well as the Australian (Federal) Government. In South Australia, the Government has withdrawn funding from some residential services (not members of the ATCA although one is working towards becoming a TC). The impact of this is not yet know, as of course services may have a number of funding sources – nevertheless the sentiment in the original email remains – any loss of beds is a concern.
In the case of Kuitpo, the organisation itself remains funded. However, an internal review decided that their country location was untenable because of concerns about bushfire, maintenance and ongoing access to water (the spring which services the property is owned by a neighbouring farmer, and ongoing access could not be guaranteed in the event that he sold up). Kuitpo has made a decision to relocate and will still be providing residential services. They are a member of the ATCA, and we are hopeful that they will continue to provide TC services.
The other ATCA member in South Australia is the Woolshed. This is a Government-owned program, also in a rural location, and I have recently been there to undertake a review. The ATCA will conduct a second peer review in the coming weeks. The SA Government has indicated they are committed to maintaining the Woolshed, and currently considering some expansion. Of course the tension here is that if an increase in funding to the Government sector results in a reduction to the NGO sector, the overall provision of services is reduced and people are denied choice.
This is all a work in progress. I will keep everyone informed, particularly as the news finally filters out from the Australian Government – now a month overdue and causing hardship to the sector.
Thank you everyone for your support.
Kind Regards
Lynne
Lynne Magor-Blatch MAPS, MCFP
Executive Officer
Australasian Therapeutic Communities Association (ATCA)
Ph: 0422 904 040
PO Box 464
Yass NSW 2582
www.atca.com.au
The ATCA acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of this country and its waters. We wish to pay our respect to Elders past and present and extend this to all Aboriginal people seeing this message.
From: Therapeutic Communities [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rowdy Yates
Sent: Thursday, 26 April 2012 5:55 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [EFTC] Residential Rehab Closures in South Australia
This worrying message was recently posted on Update, an Australian drug and alcohol announcement list. I'm not sure whether any of these facilities are TCs (ATCA list members might be able to clarify) but it is very bad news if it's true. I will forward this message to WFTC but it may be worth our while considering if EFTC might have a role to play (perhaps at our upcoming Board meeting in Thessaloniki):
"Funding cuts announced by the South Australian and Australian Governments will close up to half of all the residential rehabilitation (rehab) beds for people with major alcohol and other drug (AOD) problems. At a time when other states around Australia are expanding their treatment services, programs here are being closed or scaled down. The overcrowded South Australian prison system is likely be further strained as a result of these bed closures. South Australia, with a population of about 1.65 million people, will have about 76 residential rehab beds when all the closures come into effect on 30th June this year. The ACT has about 120 beds for a population around 350,000 people. All other states and territories are also significantly better serviced than South Australia.
The Government can’t even claim credit for all the 76 beds that will remain; it stopped funding 24 of them when the Salvation Army’s Warrondi program was defunded in 2007. Since then the Army has kept Warrondi open entirely from public donations and, consequently, its ongoing existence remains tenuous.
Last year the Government finally admitted that the DASSA-run drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre at Amata in the APY lands was a failure and that it was looking for alternate uses for the facility. This year there has been a spate of bed closures. Anglicare’s Archway program in Port Adelaide (22 beds) has been told it will not be refunded after 30th June 2012. The long-established Kuitpo program is being downsized (from 24 down to 12 or 16 beds), moved and is apparently reorienting to a supported accommodation model rather than a comprehensive residential rehabilitation model.
Kalparrin, an Aboriginal rehabilitation centre at Murray Bridge, was recently defunded by the Australian Government. Only a small residential program run by the Aboriginal Sobriety Group at Monarto provides a rehab service for South Australia’s Aboriginal population. In 2010 substantial funding was announced for a residential rehab located near Port Augusta and targeting Aboriginal people in the north and west of the State. After almost two years of Government bureaucratic processing we are yet to see a plan of the facility, let alone see a single sod turned.
Against this stream of closures, one positive step has been funding of a small (4 – 6 bed) rehabilitation facility for youth to be run by Mission Australia.
The bed closures will contribute to the continued concentration of AOD services in the hands of Government-run services, rather than in more cost-effective Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Why is it that in South Australia more than 80% of AOD services are run by Government departments? Compare that with the situation in Victoria where 100% of these services are in the hands of community or NGO services; in other states 50% to 60% of AOD services are provided by NGOs. Decisions about the structure and funding of the AOD sector in South Australia are made by the Premier, Health Minister and Cabinet. Those decisions are often heavily influenced by policy advice they get from their bureaucracy, in this case from Drug and Alcohol Services SA (DASSA). However, DASSA also happens to directly run 80% of services. Common sense dictates that in order to guard against perceptions of or actual conflicts of interest, policy advice should be held at arm’s length from service delivery.
Amy Winehouse may not have wanted to go to rehab; in South Australia she would have been unlikely to find a spot even if she had sought help."
Rowdy Yates
Senior Research Fellow
Scottish Addiction Studies
University of Stirling
The Sunday Times Scottish University of the Year 2009/2010
The University of Stirling is a charity registered in Scotland, number SC 011159.