The Substance Abuse Treatment Policy #12, or SATP#12 for Women’s Treatment Services is a policy that was developed to reduce barriers for women who are attempting to seek treatment who are pregnant or have dependent children. In reviewing the dimensions on the social problem of addiction, it has lead to questions regarding implementation of the policy, history and problems occurring that lead up to the development of the policy as well as identifying areas of effectiveness. It leads to the question of with the SATP#12 in place, does it lead to increased access of treatment for addicted mothers? Another component of the SATP#12 is access to not only substance abuse services but better managed care for other aspects of the individuals life, including…show more content… In 2010, President Barak Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, “are to decrease the number of people who are uninsured and to reduce health care costs and to improve quality of health care (HealthCare.gov, 2012a, as cited in Galambos, 2013). Having women and their children protected under the Affordable Care Act they are better able to access treatment services necessary to address their substance abuse issues more effectively. The SATP#12 policy also addresses a coordination of care aspect, understanding that the mother needs to assist her child’s medical needs as well as her own, the Affordable Care Act making additional referral services more…show more content… As discussed previously, there are differing views on whether or not addiction should be addressed legally or through treatment. Research has shown that “treatment and prevention are effective on substance use disorders” (Burke, 2008) which has reflected in political support and development of healthcare reforms and policies to increase access to treatment services, understanding that less than one fourth of individuals who need services are able to access them (Straussner and Isralowitz, 2008). “The most recent ONDCP report on the National Drug Control Strategy (2007) has attempted to use three foci to characterize its strategies: Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement” (Burke, 2008). Perhaps there will be movement towards some conjunction between law enforcement and treatment
