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The funding will support 50 new residential treatment beds in the Southern Tier, the Finger Lakes region or Western New York.
“Drug addiction has impacted the lives of many across our state, but today we are taking a critical step in helping our communities face this epidemic head-on,” said Cuomo.
“These beds will provide greater access to the treatment and support services designed to save lives and help those in need get back on the right track.”
These new treatment beds, either at one 50-bed site or two 25-bed sites, continue the governor's statewide efforts to address the heroin and opioid epidemic, including approving new opioid treatment programs in Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse, Peekskill, Troy, Plattsburgh, Utica and Watertown, and other residential treatment beds in Staten Island and 130 new beds in Albany, Niagara, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
Statewide, heroin admissions for all ages have increased by 30 percent in the last 10 years, according to Cuomo's office.
To halt this trend, Cuomo has implemented aggressive efforts, including changes in insurance to ensure coverage of substance use disorder treatment, increased access to treatment, additional treatment capacity in regions across the state and comprehensive public awareness efforts.
To meet the requirements for the new state funding, the new residential treatment beds must be located in Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Delaware, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Tioga, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties.
The funding is available through a request for proposal administered by the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.
The site or sites that are selected, through the RFP process, will receive annual operational costs of up to $2 million once the program is opened.
OASAS will work with the treatment provider that is awarded funding under this RFP to provide capital funding, if needed, at the sites that the selected provider identifies.
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