On November 20, Washington County Commissioners voted to send a letter of intent to Pennsylvania’s Department of Drug & Alcohol Programs requesting that the “Single County Authority” (SCA) status of Washington County Drug & Alcohol Commission (WDAC) be stripped. The status of Single County Authority would then be given to Washington County’s Department of Human Services. This change has the potential to significantly degrade the services and treatment outcomes for sufferers of substance use disorder (SUD) currently achieved in Washington County.
Throughout Pennsylvania, Single County Authorities plan, coordinate, and manage local drug and alcohol prevention, intervention, and treatment services. Some counties have their SCA under the control of county government, other counties contract their responsibilities out to a non-governmental organization. Washington County relinquished control of the SCA to the Washington County Drug and Alcohol Commission in 2002. The Washington County Drug and Alcohol Commission currently provides life-saving services to over 2,000 people per year- many of these people often share the incredible impact WDAC has had on their lives.
This attempt to strip the Single County Authority status from the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission appears to be motivated by political and financial goals, not a genuine attempt at improving treatment. There is also no evidence that altering the structure of the Single County Authority would save taxpayers any money. In fact, counties that control the Single County Authority have to match 10% of the funding they receive from the state, while independent agencies, like in Washington, do not have this requirement and are able to apply for grant funding. However, several individuals stand to receive promotions and increases in pay if the SCA is restructured, as requested. Shifting to county control could cause slower services in moments of crisis- WDAC has significantly improved immediate need responses compared to when county government controlled drug and alcohol services in the past.
The Washington County Commissioners and the County Human Services Department already control the Opioid Settlement Fund. TheOpioid Settlement Fund is a pool of money paid to states and counties by opioid manufacturers and distributors to combat the opioid overdose crisis. This fund provides the Commissioners with millions of dollars to award to businesses, organizations, and government agencies at their discretion. They have largely used this money to duplicate services already provided by WDAC, while simultaneously not funding WDAC or consulting them for their coordination expertise. In doing so, the Washington County Commissioners have directly defied the Pennsylvania Opioid Trust Board’s recommendation for Commissioners to coordinate with their Single County Authority to maximize the benefits of the funding in the county.
In addition to not cooperating with the current SCA, Washington County has been criticized for not communicating what they are funding or why, tracking how the funds are actually used, or properly reporting their awards to the Opioid Trust for final approval. All of these acts create opportunities for funds to be used for personal or political aims.
At the December 4th Pennsylvania Opioid Trust Board meeting, Washington County was criticized again by Trustees for their severe mismanagement of the Opioid Settlement Fund. More applications were found “non-compliant” or placed “still under consideration” for Washington County than any other county in Pennsylvania. Following the vote to not fund many of Washington’s proposals, the Board made the comment that “something needs to be done differently” in Washington moving forward, as well as voicing support for the formation of a new “task force” within Washington to inform decisions of Opioid Fund distributions. Additionally, the Board indicated that a new staff position will be hired by the Opioid Trust, and one of their first responsibilities needs to be working with Washington County to assist with remedying their shortcomings. Overall mismanagement of the Opioid Settlement Fund by Washington County raises additional concerns for the future of treatment services if the County government were to gain control of the SCA.
Sign this petition to ensure that the Washington Drug and Alcohol Commission can continue to provide the vital services it has been administering successfully for over 20 years! The Single County Authority is already operated by the right organization; there is no need to disrupt current services and risk lives to change this.
I couldn’t agree more.