Drug and Alcohol Assessment: What to Expect
Drug and alcohol assessments help evaluate drug or alcohol misuse. They determine whether you’ve used drugs or alcohol over a certain period of time, and if you have a substance abuse problem. Sometimes drug and alcohol evaluations are required by prospective employers, other times they’re mandated by the court after a DUI or other unlawful act involving drugs or alcohol. Attorneys will sometimes use drug and alcohol assessments with claimants or defendants to support a case. Addiction treatment centers may use drug and alcohol evaluations to help determine what level of care you need. Drug or alcohol assessments help determine: What Is a Drug and Alcohol Assessment Like? A drug or alcohol assessment generally takes between 60 to 90 minutes. A certified addiction specialist will walk you through each step. The process typically includes: The screening determines if there is a problem, while the assessment evaluates the depth of the problem. Some substance abuse screenings include a mental health assessment to determine if you have co-occurring mental health disorders. Questions asked during a substance abuse screening and assessment revolve around: After the screening and assessment, a follow-up screening or a structured addiction treatment program may be recommended. Your screener may make a referral to appropriate services. Types of Questions at a Drug and Alcohol Assessment Questionnaires are a type of substance abuse screening tool. Drug and alcohol assessments include questions around your substance use patterns to determine a potential substance use disorder. Different variations of substance abuse screenings include: The screening part of the process is not the same as an assessment. Screening for drug and alcohol use is one of many tools that is used to assess whether an assessment is necessary. Examples of some substance abuse questions you may be asked: Drug or Alcohol Assessment The drug or alcohol assessment process is more than screening questions. It’s a way to further diagnose and assess the results of the screening. These results are then used to create follow-up steps if the results show you could have a drug or alcohol use disorder. Assessments evaluate: What Are Court-Ordered Drug and Alcohol Assessments Like? A court-ordered evaluation for substance use is sometimes ordered by law enforcement for unlawful acts like driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or being in possession of an illegal substance. A social worker investigating a child’s home environment may also recommend a parent’s evaluation to the court. A drug or alcohol assessment mandated by the court is used to determine whether there’s a substance use problem. Courts may order a drug and alcohol assessment to: Following a court-ordered drug or alcohol abuse evaluation, at least one of the following may be mandated: What Do You Need For a Drug and Alcohol Assessment? Whether you’re having a drug and alcohol evaluation for personal purposes, or due to a court mandate, you’ll need to bring certain documents. Depending on your location, these may include: Be sure to check the requirements in your state before you go to your appointment. You’ll be interviewed by an addiction specialist. They’ll conduct an in-depth review of your drug or alcohol abuse history. Then, they’ll evaluate the documents you brought. What Happens After a Drug or Alcohol Assessment? If a drug and alcohol assessment determines you have a substance use disorder, what happens next depends on your situation. If a prospective employer required it, they have the right to withdraw the job offer if they made their substance abuse policy clear. A current employer will refer you to their policy on substance abuse and work performance and any actions will follow that policy. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects leaves from work due to medical issues. If you work for a company of 50 or more employees, you should be able to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for medical reasons. If the drug and alcohol evaluation was court-ordered, the judge may require you enter a treatment facility for a certain amount of time or receive outpatient treatment for addiction. In family court cases, it may impact child custody agreements. Use of Drug and Alcohol Assessments in Addiction Treatment An alcohol and drug treatment facility may use substance abuse assessments to evaluate the severity of your addiction and help guide your treatment plan. For instance, at Footprints to Recovery, we use assessments to help determine the appropriate level of care as well as the types of therapies and approaches we use. Substance abuse assessments paired with physical exams can also help us determine if you’re likely to experience withdrawal symptoms. If so, you’ll require alcohol or drug detox. If our assessment indicates co-occurring mental health conditions, psychiatric care will be a component of treatment. We Can Help A drug and alcohol assessment can be the first step in helping you identify destructive behaviors and patterns. The next step is getting better. At Footprints to Recovery, you’ll develop skills that will help you long after you’ve walked out our doors. Following your drug or alcohol assessment, we’ll create a treatment plan that considers your individual needs, issues, and preferences. We use a variety of evidence-based therapies with a focus on overall well-being and relapse prevention. Our approach to drug and alcohol treatment is straightforward: we listen to your needs and meet you where you’re at. Every recovering client has a story and background that’s unique to them. From one-on-one sessions to group or family therapy, we work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan. You may be struggling now, but know that life is better in recovery. Contact us today for a free, confidential consultation. References
New Penalties in NJ for Drunk Drivers Start Now
As of December 1, New Jersey rolled out new drunk driving laws to curb the ongoing problem with fatal car accidents caused by drug and alcohol use. The holidays come with an increased risk of fatal car accidents, many of which will involve alcohol and drugs this time of year. In fact, in 2018, 20 percent of all deadly crashes in New Jersey were caused by alcohol use. Over the past five years, almost 700 deaths across the state occurred due to alcohol-induced accidents. New Drunk Driving Laws in New Jersey License suspensions will no longer be instituted for most people who are first-time DUI offenders and have a BAC reading under 0.15 percent under new NJ regulations. With a blood alcohol content over 0.15 percent, first-time DUI offenders will lose their license for anywhere from four to six months. All first time offenders convicted of a DUI, however, will be required to install an ignition interlock device in their car. This device measures blood alcohol content and requires the driver to blow into it before turning on the car. The car will work as usual as long as there is less than -0.05 percent BAC present in the person’s breath. If the device registers alcohol, however, the car will be immobilized. Depending on the specifics of the case, once installed, the first-time DUI driver will have to keep the ignition lock in place on their car for anywhere from three months to a year. Should the DUI occur due to a BAC over 0.15 percent, the driver will be required to keep the ignition lock on their car for another 9 to 15 months. For second-time offenders, the consequences intensify. Drivers will lose their licenses for as long as two years and will be required to maintain the interlock device on their car for anywhere from two to four years. Serious Consequences for a Serious Problem The idea behind the new laws is to motivate safer behavior. Many people believe that the changes were long in coming and a much-needed improvement to the system. If even one life is saved because a potential drunk driver’s car was rendered immobilized by a breathalyzer device on their ignition, it is worth it. The changes to the license suspension laws are positive as well, even if at first they appear to be more lenient than they once were. A license suspension often means that someone is unable to easily get to and from work. Without a job, it is harder to stay on track and work toward positive change. Rather, many convicted offenders struggle so much that they ultimately end up drinking more and have a harder time staying sober. Thus, the new laws that remove the license suspension for many first-time DUI offenders help to ensure that most will be able to continue to drive themselves to work without having to break the law and drive on a suspended license to do so. With these changes, New Jersey becomes the 34th state to require that all convicted DUI offenders install interlock devices on their cars. The slowly growing movement is happening because these ignition locks work. New Jersey reports that just under 74,000 car startups by drivers with a BAC higher than 0.08 percent have been prevented. The Goal Is Safety The new laws are in effect just in time for the holiday season, one of the deadliest times of the year in terms of alcohol-related car accidents on the road. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve, New Jersey experiences higher rates of road fatalities due to drunk and drugged driving than at any other time of the year. In fact, the death toll was slightly higher in 2018 compared to 2017. It is hoped that the new laws will help to lower rates this year, saving lives and helping to reverse the trend. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Statewide, police are instituting a campaign to help get drunk drivers off the road before any damage can be done. Called Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, there will be an increase in units on the street patrolling and actively looking for drunk drivers as well as an increase in sobriety checkpoints. The goal is not to increase DUI arrests. State police have been advertising the campaign heavily for weeks to raise awareness with the hope of deterring people from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated in the first place. How to Avoid a DUI This Holiday Season If you live in New Jersey, new laws and increased police presence on the roads may be a powerful incentive to avoid DUI, but the fact is that good intentions are not enough to keep you safe this holiday season. If you are planning on hitting the road to get to and from holiday celebrations, dinners, and parties this year, follow these tips to avoid becoming a New Year’s DUI statistic: Designate a sober driver. Before you head out, make sure that the person driving is committed to staying sober for the entire evening — not having “just one beer” or “only smoking a little weed” early on. If the sober driver is you, commit to your sobriety for the entire evening to protect your own safety and make sure you are on high alert on the road. Stay sober. Whether or not you are driving, you will increase your ability to make safe choices — like choosing a sober driver or ordering an Uber if you don’t have a designated driver — if you are not intoxicated. Take advantage of free transportation options. Many areas in New Jersey will make public transportation free of charge while a number of local driving businesses will offer free rides to those who cannot drive themselves. Find out what the resources are local to you and make sure you have all the details readily accessible in your phone so they are easy to find when you need them. Choose destinations that are close to home.
