Director's Message

June 2, 2006

To: All DHS employees

From: Bruce Goldberg, DHS Director

"Every sector of society spends hefty sums of money shoveling up the wreckage of substance abuse and addiction. Nowhere is this more evident than in the public spending of states."

-----Joseph A. Califano, Jr., National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse

Those of you who read my weekly messages on a regular basis know how strongly I feel about the need to address human services issues from both an agency-wide and state-wide perspective rather than on a program-by-program basis. If we focus our attention on individual programmatic needs without recognizing the close interlinkages among all our programs and the individuals we serve, we will fail to use our agency's resources in ways that most effectively and efficiently help Oregonians.

A recently released report from the Governor's Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs reinforces the need for a more holistic approach in setting program priorities. The report, titled "The Domino Effect: A Business Plan for Rebuilding Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery," points out that individuals with a substance abuse problem who lack access to publicly funded treatment increase the cost of health care, are more likely to land in jail, will probably see their children placed in state-paid foster care, will not get a proper education and will have a hard time holding down a job. A copy of the report can be found at http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/addiction/publications/07-09businessplan.pdf.

The clear indication from the Council's report is that putting more effort and resources into helping people kick drug and alcohol abuse will reduce, among other things, the number of children who may need to be placed in state custody. Effective alcohol and drug abuse programs impact all of DHS as well as other state and local agencies, the criminal justice system and most of society.

Consider these facts taken from the report:

• Health care costs rise when alcohol and other drug treatment capacity is reduced.
• Between 72 and 90 percent of individuals involved with the Oregon criminal justice system have alcohol and other problems.
• Felony convictions for drug offenses prohibit many ex-offenders from being eligible for student loans, public housing assistance and driver licenses, making it harder for them to get an education, find a place to live or get to work.

DHS cannot treat substance abuse as an isolated problem, nor can we continue to look at each individual program's needs in isolation. We must, as an organization, move toward a more strategic, agency-wide approach in our planning and decision-making processes. As a first step in that direction, I have made changes in the DHS Cabinet to transform it into more of a strategic policy-making body rather than one that merely shares information about individual program operations.

As Cabinet members begin discussing issues from an interlinked perspective, we will be asking ourselves what is in the overall best interest of Oregonians and how DHS can help serve that interest. If the answer to that question means changing how we prioritize, fund and implement various programs within DHS to better serve the public, then that's what we should do.

Our mission is to assist people in becoming independent, healthy and safe. I believe we can best achieve that mission by taking a holistic look at the many services we provide and determining what actions would be most effective in helping Oregonians. I encourage each of you to join me in that effort.

To provide feedback email: DHS.Directorsoffice@state.or.us

This message is intended for all department employees. Please read it electronically, if possible. Managers and supervisors are asked to share the message each week with employees who do not have email access.