$10M for addiction treatment could add 200 beds, but there's a hold-up [ktuu.com]

By Sean Maguire, June 18, 2019, KTUU

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - When a tough-on-crime bill passed through the Legislature, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said drug addiction treatment was the next step to improving public safety across Alaska.
A $10 million package was included in the FY2020 capital budget but an ongoing dispute over how that budget is funded is stopping the package from becoming a reality.
“We are woefully under capitalized in addiction treatment,” said Rep. Ivy Spohnholz, D-Anchorage.
She described that the goal of the package is to see at least 200 more inpatient beds added across Alaska, a rise of roughly 60 percent.
The $10 million provided by the State would be given out in the form of matching grants to shovel-ready projects across Alaska. The State would require a one-to-one match with local and private contributions.
There are projects on the Kenai Peninsula and in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley that are viable and could apply for the grants, said Spohnholz.

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