In 2004, the State of Illinois received a grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) to implement a client choice, voucher program for substance use disorder clinical treatment and recovery support services. This program, Access to Recovery (ATR), provided substance use disorder treatment and recovery support services to over 8,600 individuals in Illinois between 2004 and 2007.
In March 2007, CSAT announced the availability of a second round of funding to support ATR programs in States, Territories, the District of Columbia, and Tribal Organizations. Illinois submitted an application to continue ATR-supported services in Cook County and the 5th and 6th Illinois Judicial Districts, as well as to expand services to the 10th Judicial District in West-Central Illinois. A notice of acceptance of this application was received in September 2007, and the Illinois Office of the Governor delegated responsibility for administration of the Illinois ATR-II Program to what was at the time called the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (DHS/DASA).
Outcomes
Clients involved in the ATR-II program demonstrated positive changes in their lives as reported at six months post-enrollment.
As of April 2010:
- 78% of clients interviewed for follow-up reported abstinence from alcohol and illegal substances (compared to 60% at enrollment).
- 26% reported to be employed full or part-time (compared to 7% at enrollment).
- 80% of clients reported that they were mostly or completely satisfied with the services that they received.
- 76% of clients said they would definitely recommend this program to a friend in need of similar help.
Over the years, this has grown to include other pilot projects to provide peer recovery support services across the state. IDHS/DBHR continues to build upon this infrastructure in order to sustain and build these service offerings within the statewide ROSC.
Like the original Access to Recovery (ATR) program in Illinois, and the subsequent ATR-II, III, and IV, Peer Recovery Support Service providers have helped improve access to a comprehensive array of peer recovery support options via Recovery Community Organizations (RCO's) and other peer recovery support service providers.
