NASADAD releases updated fact sheet on Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant

NASADAD has released an updated fact sheet on the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant. The updated version includes a new analysis of the lost purchasing power of the SAPT Block Grant over the past decade; the latest outcomes data from the 2018 Block Grant Report; recent data on primary substance of use and demographics of individuals at time of admission; an overview of the set-asides within the Block Grant; the important role of the State alcohol and drug agencies; and more.

Here are some highlights:

  • The SAPT Block Grant is currently funded at $1.858 billion (FY 2019).
    • Over the past decade, SAPT Block Grant funding has not kept up with health care inflation, resulting in a 24% decrease in the real value of funding since FY 2009.
  • At discharge from Block Grant-funded programs, 76% of clients demonstrate abstinence from alcohol use, and 57% are abstinent from illicit drug use. Additionally, of clients discharged from treatment, 89% have stable housing, and 93% have had no arrests.
  • On average, SAPT Block Grant funds make up 68% of primary prevention funding in States and Territories. In 20 States, the prevention set-aside represents 75% or more of the State agency’s substance use prevention budget.
  • Pregnant women must be given priority in treatment admissions, and those that are referred to the State for treatment must be placed within a program or have interim arrangements (e.g., education on communicable diseases, counseling on effects of substance use on the fetus, referral to prenatal care, etc.) made within 48 hours.
  • Over one-third (34.1%) of individuals admitted to treatment in the publicly-funded system cited heroin or prescription opioids as their primary substance of use in 2016.