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CGC needs $600K for drug court program
The Community Guidance Center, seen as a major partner for a CNMI drug court, has submitted a budget request of $681,834 to develop a “substance abuse treatment clinic.”
The budget was attached to a letter to both chambers of the Legislature Monday from the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.
According to the budget’s executive summary, the treatment clinic will have three major components: a drug abuse treatment clinic team; on-island resources for drug addiction; and a clinical outpatient treatment facility.
The center’s budget request comes a couple of weeks after the CNMI Judiciary submitted a request of $317,189 to establish and fund a drug court on island.
The guidance center is seen as a major partner of the drug court, as it will provide drug counseling and treatment.
In their budget, the center requests funding for a first-rate medical team to diagnose and prepare treatment plans for patients suffering drug addiction and those that participate in the drug court.
The center writes that they and the local hospital lack “specialized treatment capacity” for the highly addicted.
The team will be made up of eight clinical service providers: an addiction specialist, a substance abuse treatment lead, an associate substance abuse counselor/case worker, three addiction service technicians, with an additional technician in training, and a registered nurse.
