Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

Alcohol and Substance Abuse Screening, Assessment and Treatment of Family Assistance Recipients (Follow-Up Review)

As a result of welfare reform legislation, public assistance recipients must be screened for alcohol and substance abuse, and depending on the results of the screening process, may be required to undergo an assessment for such abuse or to receive treatment for such abuse. The screening, assessment and treatment activities are to be conducted by local social services districts under the supervision of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). In our prior audit report 99-S-37, we examined the implementation and oversight of these activities. We found that the local districts were not required to report data to OTDA about their screening, assessment and treatment activities, and systems had not been developed by OTDA for assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of the activities. We recommended that such data be reported to OTDA, and such assessment systems be developed by OTDA. In our follow-up review, we found that progress had been made in implementing these recommendations.

For a complete copy of Report 2002-F-48 click here.
For a copy of the 90-day response click here.