Substance Use Prevention and Recovery

Eligibility & Accessing Services
Other Resources

The Illinois Department of Human Services is charged with designing, coordinating and funding a comprehensive and coordinated community-based and culturally and gender-appropriate array of services throughout the state for the prevention, intervention, treatment and rehabilitation of Substance Use Disorders (SUD). The Department delegates these responsibilities to the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (SUPR). SUPR is primarily responsible for providing prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support services related to alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, and gambling to citizens of Illinois. Such services are supported through a combination of state and federal funds.

The mission of the Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery is to provide a recovery-oriented system of care along the continuum of prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery support where individuals with SUD, those in recovery and those at risk are valued and treated with dignity and where stigma, accompanying attitudes, discrimination, and other barriers to recovery are eliminated.

SUPR consists of four Bureaus designed to reflect our mission and planning goals and objectives. Primary responsibilities are to develop, maintain, monitor and evaluate a statewide SUD recovery-oriented system of care. The treatment delivery system is designed to provide screening, assessment, customer-treatment matching, referral, intervention, treatment and continuing care services for people with SUDs. These services are provided by numerous community-based SUD treatment organizations contracted by SUPR according to the needs of various communities and populations.

Services Provided

Substance Use Disorder Treatment

SUPR licensed organizations provide person-centered individual SUD treatment through a continuum approach where patients move from one level of care to another, based upon assessed need and continuing medical necessity. In Illinois, clinical staff providing service at licensed treatment facilities are specially trained to work with individuals seeking treatment. Everyone seeking treatment will be given an initial assessment to determine their individual needs. The assessment will determine which level of care the individual will be placed in based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria. Levels of care range from outpatient through residential care along with withdrawal management services. Recovery support services are available for all patients, no matter their stage of recovery as SUD is a chronic health condition that may necessitate support throughout an individual's lifespan.

Information on becoming a Substance Use Disorder provider

Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substances

A statewide 24-hour, 7-day/week, 365 day/year helpline for persons with Substance Use Disorder-related issues as well as family and friends.

Opioid Treatment

SUPR licensed organizations provide person-centered individual treatment for people with opioid use disorders (OUD) through an Opioid Treatment Program (OTP), based upon assessed need and continuing medical necessity. Designation by the DEA and SAMHSA is required to be an OTP, which allows the program to dispense medications as an adjunct to treatment.

Overdose Response Treatment Programs

Federal funding from Overdose Response Grants are designed to address the range of serious opioid-related problems and issues that are being experienced among residents across Illinois. These programs primarily aim to address the opioid crisis by expanding the availability of MAR, improving the quality of the MAR provided, reducing opioid overdose related deaths, and increasing public awareness of opioid-related problems and access to the resources that are available to address these problems. Further descriptions of the multiple projects included in this program .

Pregnant Women, Women with Dependent Children Programs

Substance Use Prevention Treatment Block Grant funded programs provide Five Core Services to be provided directly or arranged for the provision of in set aside programs which are designed by the state for pregnant women and women with dependent children:

Primary medical care, including referral for prenatal care and, while the women are receiving such services, childcare.
Primary pediatric care, including immunizations, for their children.
Gender-specific substance use disorder treatment and other therapeutic interventions for women which may address issues of relationships, sexual and physical abuse and parenting, and childcare while women are receiving such services.
Therapeutic interventions for children in the custody of women in treatment which may, among other things, address their developmental needs, their issues of sexual and physical abuse, and neglect.
Sufficient case management and transportation to ensure that women and their children have access to these services.

Additionally, The family must be treated as a unit. When appropriate, children should be admitted with mothers into treatment.Women with dependent children include women in treatment who are attempting to regain custody of their children. Pregnant women seeking substance use disorder treatment in Illinois are given priority admission status. If treatment capacity is unavailable for a pregnant woman seeking services, interim services will be made available no later than 48 hours after she has sought treatment.

Substance Use Prevention

SUPR grant awarded organizations deliver services targeted to preventing opioid overdose through opioid focused youth prevention education, creation and distribution of public awareness campaigns, and the Student Athlete OUD Primary Prevention Services

Drug Overdose Prevention Program (DOPP)

The purpose of the Drug Overdose Prevention Program (DOPP) is to reduce the number of deaths in Illinois by training and educating first responders to respond to an overdose. First responders may include law enforcement officers, school nurses, bystanders, friends and family members of heroin or other opioid dependent persons, and others. Training for first responders includes information on methods that can reduce overdose fatalities, including the administration of Naloxone. Naloxone is a medication that reverses an overdose by blocking opioids, including prescription opioids and heroin.

Tobacco Prevention

SUPR grant awarded organizations, usually municipalities, working with local law enforcement to identify, educate, and complete compliance checks or tobacco retailers to reduce tobacco sales to individuals under 21 years of age.

Recovery Housing

SUPR licensed organizations provide housing for individuals who want to maintain an illicit drug and alcohol-free lifestyle. Services include housing, intermittent staff support and/or access to ancillary sobriety-based activities/groups that meet the specific cultural or social needs of the resident.

Recovery Support Services

The Recovery Support Service (RSS) Program provides access to a comprehensive array of recovery support options, including Employment Coaching, Peer/Recovery Coaching, Recovery Skills, Employment Training and Spiritual Support. RSS Program services are typically provided by paid staff or volunteers who have lived experience with substance use disorders and are familiar with how their communities can support people seeking to live free of alcohol and drugs.

Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care-Illinois Statewide Network (ROSC-ISN)

The Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care-Illinois Statewide Network (ROSC-ISN) Program established networked, geographically distributed ROSC Councils that assist communities with building local recovery-oriented systems of care and that network with the statewide ROSC. Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) are coordinated networks of community-based services and supports that are person-centered and build on the strengths and resiliencies of individuals, families, and communities to achieve recovery and improved health, wellness, and quality of life for those with or at risk of substance use disorders. ROSC Councils build collaborations in their communities that connect everyone who can support recovery. This may include local hospitals, primary care, mental health, law enforcement, local business owners, local government representatives and policy makers, persons with lived experience and SUD intervention, treatment, prevention and recovery support service providers.

Gambling Disorder Treatment

SUPR licensed organizations that provide treatment for individuals with a gambling disorder (GD) problem. Services for individuals include a gambling disorder screening and assessment and referral to treatment as deemed medically necessary. Additional services include case management and recovery support. SUPR also funds a website and hotline to help with problem identification and access to treatment. Visit https://WeKnowTheFeeling.org for more information.

Diversion from Criminal Justice

SUPR licensed organizations provide pre-diagnostic, evaluation services for Illinois courts and the Office of the Secretary of State. Screening, referral, tracking and linkage to SUD treatment are provided to individuals who are requesting diversion into SUD treatment instead of incarceration.

Impaired Driving Intervention

SUPR licensed organizations provide pre-diagnostic, evaluation services for Illinois courts and the Office of the Secretary of State. Services include evaluation and risk education for individuals arrested for impaired driving offenses.