Drug-Addicted Women Losing County’s Help Kicking Habits

Christina Martin decided to give up drugs when they cost her her two small children. Arrested and jailed for possession of methamphetamine, Martin was reunited with her kids when she entered a county drug treatment program for young mothers and pregnant women.

This week, Martin is celebrating her first full year of sobriety.

These days, though, drug-addicted women with children are finding it more difficult to overcome their substance abuse problems and learn to properly care for their children because of sharp budget cuts in the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the county Health Care Agency.

The cutbacks, caused by reductions in state and federal funding, have prompted the county to slash jobs and shut down two clinics that serve addicted mothers. As a result, women must travel as far as 15 miles for counseling, parenting classes and support-group meetings, sometimes facing delays in receiving services.

“It’s very sad because there are so many people who need and deserve help,” Martin said. “Just sending someone to jail is not helpful if they come back to the same situation. It’s not helpful to the women or society.”

Health care officials agree, saying the perinatal program has a proven track record for getting women off drugs and helping them lead productive lives.

“It’s really a crime-prevention program,” added Bill Edelman, manager of the county’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division. “This turns them into people who feel good about themselves and don’t go around stealing, manipulating and lying to people.”

By helping mothers care for their own kids, the perinatal service saves taxpayers thousands of dollars a year in children’s services that the county would otherwise have to spend, Edelman and others said.

Federal and state funding for county drug programs was cut by $1.3 million this year. Health care advocates, along with Martin and several other mothers who graduated from the program, urged the Board of Supervisors last week to close the shortfall with county funds.

Moved by the women’s emotional pleas, supervisors allocated $500,000 to the substance abuse division, including $150,000 for youth drug prevention efforts and $250,000 for the mothers’ program.

“It offers a real return on our investment. It breaks the cycle,” said Supervisor William G. Steiner. “We avoid significant costs later because of dysfunctional drug babies and people on welfare or jail.”

But the allocation doesn’t fully cover this year’s losses or the $2 million in cuts made last year by Sacramento and Washington. Since 1994, the county has slashed staffing in the substance abuse division from 240 positions to 169.

“The problem is that a lot of these drug-abuse programs were at basement level even before these cuts,” said Jean Forbath, chairwoman of the Health Council of Orange County. “The programs have always been underfunded.”

The latest cut also hit nonprofit drug centers that contract with the county. Woodglen, a residential drug and alcohol treatment center in Fullerton, saw its funding cut by a third last year, forcing it to lay off half the staff and close its detoxification program.

Robert Husted, Woodglen’s program manager, said the treatment center serves about 150 addicts a year, including many who have served lengthy prison terms.

“Everyone who gets sober saves the county and state thousands of dollars,” Husted said. “But I’m not sure people look at it that way.”

Overall, county officials estimated that the two years of cuts forced them to turn away 1,000 addicts seeking help from various programs.

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The perinatal service suffered fewer cuts than other programs, but women in need now have fewer locations to turn for help and fewer counselors to serve them. The county closed clinics in Westminster and Santa Ana last year, leaving public facilities in Costa Mesa, Aliso Viejo, Santa Ana and Garden Grove as well as a few private perinatal centers.

“Instead of going to a clinic in the area where they live, people have to drive farther and wait longer for service,” Edelman said.

Added Timothy P. Mullins, the county’s director of the Behavior Health Department: “The changes mean less access.”

Mothers and pregnant women are often referred to the program by courts and social workers. In addition to drug treatment, the women receive counseling in anger control and parenting skills as well as help with education and job services. Most participants stay in the program for six months to a year, though many attend support groups after graduation.

“I don’t think I would be clean and sober today . . . without the program,” said a Mission Viejo woman who went through treatment two years ago and asked that her name not be used.

“I’m absolutely a different person. All the times I thought I needed drugs for energy was ridiculous,” added Martin, who is now studying to become an substance abuse counselor. “I went in at 103 pounds. I’m now at 150. I was that sick.”

Martin was especially grateful for the parenting lessons. “I have so much more patience now,” she said. “It’s a real change.”