Implementation Guidelines - Federal Transit Administration - U.S. ...

are not limited to, in-patient hospitalization,
partial in-patient treatment, outpatient
counseling programs, and aftercare. SAPs
should be careful to assess the effectiveness
of the program in terms of effecting actual
rehabilitation of the individual rather than
enrolling an individual in a detoxification
program. A detox program works to remove
the drugs/alcohol from a person’s system,
but does little to impact future usage. An
effective rehabilitation program, on the other
hand, alters an individual’s behavior,
changes their outlook on life, and impacts
their future life choices. A person that
successfully completes an effective
rehabilitation program has a much greater
chance of remaining drug and alcohol free.
SAPs may not provide treatment to
employees whom they have assessed, nor
may SAPs have any financial or other ties to
treatment providers who are treating
employees the SAP referred. The rules,
however, do not prohibit the SAP from
referring an employee for assistance to 1) a
public agency operated by a state, county, or
municipality; 2) the employer’s contracted
treatment provider; 3) the single substance
abuse inpatient treatment program made
available by the employee’s insurance
coverage plan; and 4) the only education
program reasonably located within the
general commuting area. If the only
treatment program available to the employee
through the employee’s insurance coverage
is not considered by the SAP to be an
effective or suitable program, the SAP
should not recommend the covered program,
but should identify other more appropriate
programs even if not covered by the
employee’s insurance.
SAPs should have a working knowledge
of quality programs and qualified
counselors, as well as insurance, benefit
plans, employee’s ability to pay, employer
Chapter 9. Substance Abuse
Professionals, Rehabilitation, and
Treatment
treatment contracts, and payment
requirements. The SAP should know the
employer’s policies regarding payment for
treatment and use of leave (e.g., sick leave,
vacation, leave without pay) for treatment.
Section 3. EMPLOYEE
ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Programs that address substance abuse
problems in the workplace are often referred
to as Employee Assistance Programs, or
EAPs. EAPs help employees and family
members with personal and behavioral
problems, including, but not limited to,
health, marital, financial, alcohol, drug,
legal, and emotional stress that may
adversely affect job performance,
productivity, and most importantly, safety.
All sizes and types of employers have
instituted EAPs because they can help save
money through decreased absenteeism,
fewer accidents, reduced use of insurance
benefits, savings in worker’s compensation
claims, fewer grievances arbitrations, and
reduced employee replacement costs.
EAPs as SAPs. Because EAPs typically
perform SAP-like functions (i.e.,
assessment, confidential record keeping,
determination of suitability to return to
work, and recommendation for follow-up
testing), and the additional cost to expand an
existing EAP to include SAP services are
lower than the initial costs to establish a new
9-7 August 2002