Access to Recovery (ATR) is a nationwide presidential initiative which provides funding for the purchase of individual substance abuse treatment and recovery support services. Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board (GPTCHB) administers its Great Plains Access to Recovery (GPATR) Program in collaboration with the 17 tribal nations and one Indian Service Area it serves in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.
The GPATR Program has been in existence since late 2010 and will continue to provide client-oriented services for the region’s Native Americans, both on-reservation and in urban areas, through September 29, 2015.
The goals of the program are to:
- Expand opportunities for healing in the region;
- Support personal choice among tribal members;
- Increase the array of faith- and community-based substance abuse treatment and recovery support providers;
- Place the means to recovery in the hands of the individuals receiving services; and
- Support local knowledge and capacity to identify needs and solutions with regard to substance abuse issues.
GPATR funds a wide variety of clinical and recovery support services. The program is unique in that it encourages and supports the integration of culturally traditional services into the provider network’s overall clinical treatment and recovery services.
Clinical treatment services supported by GPATR include:
- Chemical dependency evaluation
- Care coordination
- Outpatient counseling (individual, family, group)
- Anger management
- Co-occurring mental health treatment
- Equine-assisted psychotherapy
- Residential treatment
- Alcohol/drug testing
Recovery support services covered by GPATR include:
- Halfway house residency
- Parenting classes
- Child care while individual is receiving services
- Employment training and coaching
- Transportation to services
- Health education
- Relapse prevention
- Spiritual activities
- Traditional healing
- Ceremonial sweat lodge
- Talking circle
- Native American language recovery/expression
- Storytelling/cultural teaching
- Tribal song and dance
- Tribal arts and crafts
- Educational services
- Stress management
- Peer support/self-help groups
- Physical fitness/well-being activities
- Acupuncture
- Alternative therapies
How do you enter and move through the system?
There is a “no wrong door” policy for entry into the GPATR Program. You may refer yourself or be referred through any tribal program or collaborating partner or other sources.
Regardless of how you enter the program, a GPATR employee or an intake provider will determine your eligibility by performing an initial screening.
Eligibility requirements include:
- Enrollment in or eligible for enrollment in a federally recognized tribe;
- Must be at least 13 years of age;
- Must reside within the GPATR Program service region of South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa; and
- Must be experiencing or have experienced a substance abuse issue(s).
Once you are authorized to participate in the program, you will choose an intake provider and be assessed for service options.
The Great Plains Access to Recovery Program is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).