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Arkansas
CARES Opens North Little Rock Center
OCT.
4, 2001 | Arkansas
CARES, the treatment program for mothers with
substance abuse problems and their children, opened
Arkansas CARES Eastgate in North Little Rock last week
in a special ceremony.
U.S.
Representative Vic Snyder;
North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays; Tom
Butler, UAMS vice chancellor for administration; and
G. Richard Smith, M.D., participated in the grand
opening.
Dr. Smith is chairman of the Department
of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science in the
College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for
Medical Sciences (UAMS). A specialty program of the
department, Arkansas CARES planned the event in
celebration of children and their families in the Dark
Hollow community of North Little Rock and as part of
National Alcohol and Drug Abuse Recovery Month.
“North
Little Rock is so proud to partner with UAMS and
others to be a part of the solution” to drug and
alcohol addiction, Mayor Hays said. “Substance abuse
is a major health and social problem that affects
thousands of Arkansans of all ages, races, and ethnic
backgrounds and in all communities, including our own.
It has a huge medical, societal, and economic cost.
When the addicted person is a mother, the impact may
extend to her children and generations to come.” The
City of North
Little Rock received a three-year Targeted
Capacity Expansion grant from the federal Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, to expand the
successful Arkansas CARES program into the community.
Rep.
Snyder praised Arkansas CARES: “Because this
treatment program has such a high rate of success, it
calls positive attention to Arkansas for dealing
pro-actively with a difficult-to-treat, often tragic
health situation.” |
Dr. Smith presided over the grand opening of Arkansas
CARES Eastgate. (All photos by JohnPaul Jones, UAMS Media
Services)
Cynthia Crone gave U.S. Rep. Snyder a tour.
Mayor Hays greeted well-wishers at the grand opening.
Rep. Mary Anne Salmon of North Little Rock (left), Cynthia
Crone (second from right), and Tom Butler (right) looked
at children’s books at the center.
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Cynthia Crone, R.N., A.P.N., an advanced practice nurse in the
Department of Psychiatry, is executive director of Arkansas
CARES. She
described the program as “unique, in that the children enter
treatment along with their mothers.
This removes one of the greatest barriers to treatment
and results in a longer timeframe of treatment, which is
positively associated with better family outcomes.”
Dr.
Smith explained, “Addiction is a chronic, relapsing illness.
What many people do not realize is that treatment of
addiction is as effective as treatments for other chronic
medical conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Treatment of mothers doubles as prevention for their children.
Through this program we are demonstrating that prevention and
treatment efforts work hand in hand.
We are also providing training to health-care students
from many academic fields.”
The
Arkansas CARES program is dedicated to helping decrease
substance abuse among mothers and lessening the harmful effects
of addiction on children and families. According to the
program’s medical director, Linda L.M. Worley, M.D.,
“Arkansas CARES is working to break the cycles of addiction,
poverty, and dependency.”
According
to Nicola Conners, Ph.D., one of the program’s independent
evaluators, “The treatment success rates are impressive.”
Her study of the Arkansas CARES positive family outcomes will be
published soon in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. She reported that only 15
percent of mothers who completed the Arkansas CARES treatment
program had relapsed to alcohol or drug use nearly a year after
leaving the program compared to a 58 percent relapse rate for
women who did not complete the program. Treated mothers also had
significant improvements in their mental health status, family
cohesion, employment, legal status, living conditions, and
ability to be an effective parent. Their children made gains in
school and showed increased ability to resist using alcohol and
drugs.
Addiction
treatment not only works, it is cost-effective. Vice Chancellor
Butler said, “According to the National Institutes of Health,
several conservative estimates show that every dollar invested
in addiction treatment programs yields a return of between four
and seven dollars in reduced drug-related crime, criminal
justice costs, and theft. When
savings related to health care are included, total savings can
exceed costs by a ratio of 12 to one.”
Working
with affected children is an important part of the family
recovery process. The UAMS Child Study Center, also a part of
the Department of Psychiatry, is expanding by opening the Child
Study Center North (CSCN) at the Pine Street Family Development
Center near Arkansas CARES Eastgate. CSCN will serve children
enrolled in Arkansas CARES as well as an expanded circle of
North Little Rock families.
According
to Bruce Cohen, director of the UAMS Child Study Center,
“Children of addicted parents are the highest risk group of
children to become drug and alcohol abusers because of genetic
and family environment factors.” The CSCN intervenes by
working closely with client families of Arkansas CARES,
treatment staff, local schools and community agencies. While
addressing the specific needs of these children, CSCN provides
support and guidance to family members and others.
Several
community organizations and churches have collaborated with
North Little Rock and UAMS in planning Arkansas CARES Eastgate,
including the Family Service Agency, Midwifery Associates,
Watershed, North Little Rock Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scouts,
Jefferson Comprehensive Care Clinic, North Little Rock Housing
Authority, and the North Little Rock Health Department.
The program has also received
community and corporate support. SunCom
and Motorola
donated 12 cellular telephones and cellular telephone service to
Arkansas Cares.
Links
on This Page
Arkansas CARES Director: http://www.uams.edu/today/083001/Crone.htm
Arkansas CARES Serves: http://www.uams.edu/advancement/ARcares2.htm
Arkansas CARES: http://www.arcares.uams.edu/
U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder: http://www.house.gov/snyder/
Department of Psychiatry: http://www.psych.uams.edu/
North Little Rock: http://www.northlr.org/
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: http://www.samhsa.gov/
SunCom: http://www.suncom.com/
Motorola: http://www.motorola.com/home/
©
2001 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). A
single copy of these materials may be reprinted for
noncommercial personal use only. “UAMS,” “UAMS Medical
Center,” “UAMS Online,” “UAMS Today,” “uams.edu,”
and “Here’s to Your Health” are marks of UAMS.
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