Drug and Alcohol Programs 

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) leads the commonwealth’s effort to prevent and reduce drug, alcohol, and gambling addiction and misuse, and promote recovery, thereby reducing the human and economic impact of the disease of substance use disorder.

To support this mission, the department administers various federal and state funding including the federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant and State Opioid Response Grant. These funds are allocated to 47 administrative units called Single County Authorities (SCAs), which are designated to coordinate access to treatment, case management, and recovery support services across the local system of care.

As such, a large portion of funding allocations are to support access to drug and alcohol treatment for Pennsylvanians who are uninsured or underinsured. With the expansion of Medicaid, the number of uninsured Pennsylvanians has been reduced, which has allowed funding opportunities for innovative programs and services.

The chart depicts the unduplicated number of uninsured and underinsured Pennsylvanians admitted to drug and alcohol treatment using the funds allocated to the SCAs. It is important to note that the chart does not include all Pennsylvanians accessing treatment through private insurers, Medicaid, or personal funds. The decrease in admissions during SFY 2020-2021 appears to be driven by a combination of COVID-19, where there was a stark drop in admissions beginning in March 2020, as well as a statewide increase in Medical Assistance enrollment, in which these federal funding supports were no longer needed for many individuals.

DDAP is responsible for licensing all drug and alcohol treatment facilities within the commonwealth using the standards provided in 28 Pa. Code Part V. DDAP conducts annual and unannounced inspections to ensure that both public and private drug and alcohol treatment facilities meet the regulatory requirements. If a provider of treatment services does not meet those requirements, DDAP issues citations and works with the facility to develop a corrective action plan. DDAP also investigates facility incident reports and conducts complaint investigations which are available on the department's website at www.ddap.pa.gov. 

The charts below detail the overall number of licensed drug and alcohol treatment facilities, inpatient vs. outpatient drug and alcohol treatment facilities, and the overall capacity to support Pennsylvanians. 

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania continues to focus on ensuring that the drug and alcohol treatment system remains flexible enough to support all Pennsylvanians in their journey to recovery. DDAP works in partnership with local communities and other commonwealth agencies to ensure that there is capacity in the treatment system for Pennsylvanians to access appropriate, individualized treatment plans as determined by clinicians.   

DDAP provides funding at the local level for treatment of uninsured and underinsured individuals at all levels of care. Treatment funding is also available through private insurance, Medicaid, or personal funds. DDAP provides training and technical assistance to providers in meeting changing treatment needs and assuring that clinicians have the necessary skills to address challenges of the changing local, state and national landscape of substance use disorder treatment.

To address the devastating impact that the opioid crisis has had in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has worked to expand access to medication assisted treatment at all levels of care and increase appropriate treatment capacity to support the growing number of Pennsylvanians entering treatment for opioid use disorder. Medication assisted treatment for opioid use disorder is now available in many outpatient treatment providers in the commonwealth. Access continues to increase in both outpatient and inpatient treatment.

Continued monitoring of the increase in psychostimulant-usage at the state and national level is critical to assure that appropriate treatment capacity is available to meet the changing clinical needs of psychostimulant use. As stimulant use increases, DDAP anticipates an increase in inpatient admissions to successfully treat Pennsylvanians. 

Pennsylvania’s Get Help Now hotline (1-800-662-HELP) was established in November 2016 after the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) identified the need for a consistent, reliable path for individuals to access drug and alcohol treatment services.

The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year for all Pennsylvanians, regardless of insurance. It is staffed by crisis trained professionals, many of whom are in recovery from substance use disorder, equipped with local resources. Individuals with substance use disorder and their loved ones can call the hotline to access local drug and alcohol treatment services, educate family members, and/or learn more about recovery resources. In addition to calling the hotline, DDAP offers a chat function offering the same services at www.ddap.pa.gov. To ensure access to services, after a brief screening the hotline directly connects individuals to treatment providers through a warmline connection – meaning hotline staff stay with the individual until an appropriate provider is identified and introductions are made.

The chart to the right provides the number of calls to the hotline each year, and the percentage of calls resulting in intakes where the caller received resources and/or a warm-line connection during the call.

If you or a loved one is struggling with substance use disorder, we encourage you to call the Get Help Now hotline today, 1-800-662-HELP (4357).