John P. Walters, the Michigan native was sworn in as the Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) on December 7, 2001. As the nation's "Drug Czar," Mr. Walters oversees and coordinates all aspects of federal drug programs as well as spending.

He holds a BA from Michigan State University and an MA from the University of Toronto, and has taught political science at Michigan State University's James Madison College and at Boston College. Mr. Walters served as Acting Assistant Director and Program Officer in the Division of Education Programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1982 to 1985.

From 1985 until 1988, he worked at the U.S. Department of Education, serving as Assistant to the Secretary and leading the development of anti-drug programs for the Secretary and the Department. He was also the Secretary's representative to the National Drug Policy Board and the Domestic Policy Councils Health Policy Working Group.

Mr. Walters has extensive experience at ONDCP. From 1989 to 1991 he was chief of staff for William Bennett. He served as Deputy Director for Supply Reduction from 1991 until resigning from the position in 1993 to protest President Clinton's slashing of his staff from 146 to 25 and the announcement that the anti-narcotics policy would focus on hardcore users, while de-emphasizing law enforcement and interdiction. He served as president of the Philanthropy Roundtable, a national association of over 600 foundations and individual donors, from 1996 until 2001. Mr. Walters agreed to speak with Counselor Magazine's editor, Ria Romano, about the issues concerning today's addiction treatment professional.

Counselor: Mr. Walters, thank you for speaking with me today, and congratulations on your new position at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Let me begin by taking a macrocosmic approach. Do you feel we have enough professionally trained alcohol and drug counselors available in the U.S. today to deal with the current chemical dependency problems?

Walters: The administration is taking a closer look at that issue. We don't have a final determination on the need or even specific areas where there may be problems stemming from a lack of counselors working in the field. However, there is a study being done by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), as you may know, to identify factors that affect retention. The study examines the character of the work force and what we can do to bolster the work force. We're trying to not only enhance the present capacity of the treatment system, but to formulate professionalization training for individuals in the field. This is just a portion of what we are examining in reviewing the drug strategy, policies, and programs following the release of the overall policy that President Bush submitted in mid-February. So we are taking a careful look at this issue. I'm also aware of Senator Biden and certain legislation that's addressing training. So we're examining these same issues and hope to have some conclusions by the middle of May.

Counselor: Mr. Walters, on February 12 when the administration revealed its anti-drug strategy, you stated that your priorities include: (a) identifying drug users who need treatment but are unlikely to seek it, and (b) helping the recovering addict stay clean. How do you plan to accomplish those two goals?

Walters: Well, one of the things that we're going to do is use the educative authorities of the office in speaking to people. Education is key. But we're also looking at using some of the media campaign resources to reach the estimated five million individuals that have a dependence problem in the United States. Our best estimates also show that teenage dependence is at an historic high and we need to address that issue. We want to encourage those who are in family and education settings in communities, who are working with young people and others who need help. We want to encourage them not to step back when they think somebody's in trouble, but rather move forward and help them face their problem and seek treatment. We know that once they get the initial assistance and treatment, then begins the life-long challenge of recovery. We also know the probability for sustained recovery is greatly improved when there is easily accessible support provided in community and employment settings, such as schools, families, and other common places. So to answer your question, we want to try to educate a larger portion of the American public to place them in the position where they feel more confident and knowledgeable when it comes to getting people with substance abuse problems assistance. We also want to educate the public as to how they might provide support to those with substance abuse problems through the difficult process of recovery.

Counselor: Is the ONDCP leaning towards including alcohol in their National Drug Control Policy?

Walters: Underage drinking is already part of our portfolio where alcohol and tobacco is an illegal drug for young people. That's part of what we're doing. We're also, of course, involved with programs that treat people who have multiple dependences, and that includes alcohol. We don't have the lead on the issues concerning a policy for alcohol control for adults, but we do have responsibility for prevention concerning young people, and we are involved in treatment programs obviously that affect alcohol dependence.

Counselor: Getting treatment resources where they are needed requires targeted spending, as you know. This budget asks that $50 million of new treatment funding be targeted to areas with the greatest need. What, in your opinion, are the areas of greatest need?

Walters: We're going to try to look at some of what the President enunciated, such as women and inner-city youth, low-income areas, but we're also trying to find areas that because of their local situations have documented or can document a particular need in the shortfall, so we're putting resources where there's the greatest need. We're going to use the Target Capacity Expansion Program to focus on this, as well as some others, to address the problem that the need is not distributed evenly within the population. We know that. So the population-based formulas only do part of the job in building capacity here. We want to try to focus on both populations and geographic areas where there is special concern and get resources to them.

Counselor: Can you name any special geographic areas that come to mind?

Walters: We haven't identified them yet. We are looking at the individual data. We're looking mostly at metropolitan areas, but we're also going to allow people to submit applications to us. I don't want to prejudice the judging here, but we are also using the data available to the federal government to look at areas that seem to be showing a particular need. So we'll try to also reach out to them; and if they're not already submitting proposals, we want to try to bridge that gap.

Counselor: CSAT is supporting the development of local recovery advocacy organizations around the country. What role do you feel such grassroots organizations can play in enhancing addiction recovery and educating local communities about the hundreds of thousands of individuals and families that are reaping the benefits of addiction recovery?

Walters: I think as a general rule, there ought not to be a wrong door to enter treatment. There ought not to be a place where we don't appreciate the value and importance of treatment as well as the individuals who need it and the families who are supporting these folks in recovery. So I don't have a problem with any organization, such as a grassroots organization, that tries to encourage people to be both knowledgeable and supportive of individuals in the process of getting treatment for themselves.

Counselor: How long do you think it will take to develop adequate capacity to treat all addicted people who need or want treatment? Some figures say only one in three can presently obtain treatment, and reports from the Bush administration admit to one in two.

Walters: Yes, well, I actually think this is a two-part problem. The first part is derived from the expanded questions on the household survey that was used to enhance our ability to estimate the overall need. It basically showed us that of the estimated five million people, well more than half of the individuals who were given the questions and demonstrated dependence or abuse came up as needing assistance. A little less than half thought they needed help. So a critical portion of the treatment need has to be met by getting people to realize or understand that they need the services of a treatment system. In the second stage we need to build the capacity for high-quality treatment once those people come in to receive the services they need, and also coordinate frequently with related services. For instance, they may need mental health services, housing, other kinds of counseling, job training, placement, and so forth. It is a multi-dimensional task. Then, I think, we need to do a better job in supporting recovery and the follow-up. We must develop better aftercare. So I think what that analysis is directing us toward is seeing this need as a series of areas where we need to provide additional support, all the way from intake to aftercare. Treatment is the part that you could call the "centerpiece," but it's also the shortest period of time. We know recovery is the longest period of time. It's a life-long challenge for people who have a dependency problem and we recognize that fact. But we want to try to develop a meaningful policy that relates to this entire continuum of need. We want to offer beneficial services to individuals with substance abuse issues and help them integrate into the main stream of society. We need something that works and is effective.

Counselor: On a different note, what will be some of your special initiatives that relate to people of color, particularly African-Americans and Hispanics?

Walters: We've already launched our prevention campaign in the media. We have a targeted program for various audiences, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans. We target advertising for a variety of communities, ethnic races, and geographic locations in that program. The targeted capacity is in expansion grants that we're talking about to provide additional treatment services that will be directed at local jurisdictions. In many cases, we believe that those will be communities or areas that have a particular, dominant ethnic racial component to them. Also, we are looking at settings CSAT and others have underway, as we talked about earlier, about recruiting and retaining professionals in the field. Some of those are also identifying that our particular minority populations have special involvement in those fields of counseling. So the research is designed to tailor our efforts to reach those populations where such tailoring would be helpful.

Counselor: My final question is an open question. Counselor Magazine's readership consists specifically of addiction treatment professionals. If you were to address them, is there anything you would personally like to say to them?

Walters: I guess what I would like to say to them personally is our goal is to make the various contributors to our overall national effort feel that they are recognized. Their work as hands-on addiction treatment professionals is appreciated on a wider scale by what we in government do on the broader education side. What we do on the policy and budget front hopefully supports them with the resources that they and their colleagues rely on to be successful. The government knows that our ability to drive down drug use and addiction in America is critically dependent on the work of people like your readers who are in the field. Our goal is to enable them. We know we don't do the work in the trenches. But I do know we all need to work together as effectively as possible to reach the goals the President has set and eradicate America's substance abuse problem.

Counselor: I think we'll end it here on a patriotic note. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

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