Published November 2004

Nonprofit expands
chemical dependency
program

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

With the acquisition of Northwest Alternatives, the Catholic Community Services Snohomish Family Center in Everett has become the largest provider of intensive and outpatient chemical dependency treatment in Snohomish County.

By acquiring Northwest Alternatives’ 24 staff members, CCS was able to expand its chemical dependency program staff to 36, open a larger office in Everett to house both agencies’ programs and provide offices in Lynnwood and Marysville, said Thomas MacIntyre, CCS vice president and executive director of the center.

CCS also was able to expand its adult chemical dependency program, add youth chemical dependency programs and establish an Alcohol and Drug Information School, he said.

“They had a small unit in Everett so we expanded the program operating out of our main office and found a new space for the combined organizations,” MacIntyre said. “We are pleased to be able to offer services in Lynnwood, where we had no office before. Overall, we’ve doubled the number in our current chemical dependency program to 250.”

Northwest Alternatives approached CCS because it was a similar, nonprofit agency with a single focus on chemical dependency. Facing rising operating costs, the group saw an opportunity to merge with the CCS program, he said.

“Their overhead was becoming impossible, and they chose us as the organization they wanted to assume their contracts. They wanted to consolidate their services with a provider whose philosophy best dovetailed with theirs. They were attracted to our mission and our focus on the poor,” he said.

The CCS chemical dependency program operates under contracts with Washington state’s Division of Alcoholic and Substances Abuse, private insurance companies and Snohomish County. Last year, 967 clients received chemical dependency services from the Snohomish Family Center, including clients in Adult Drug Court, an alternative to imprisonment for those convicted of DUI charges, and those in chemical dependency services for pregnant and parenting women living at the Tree of Life apartments in south Everett.

Information about chemical dependency services provided by CCS in Snohomish County is available at 425-257-2111.

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