Advocacy Resources

NAADAC Issue Briefs

Issue Briefs act as learning tools for NAADAC members. These briefs summarize issues that are of importance to addiction professionals, and provide support for NAADAC members when interacting with public officials and the media.

NAADAC Position Statements

Position statements comprise NAADAC’s stance on a certain issue. They seek to complement and strengthen NAADAC’s legislative agenda.

NAADAC Sign On Letters

A list of initiatives that NAADAC has signed onto support.

NAADAC 2020 Advocacy Webinar Series

In order to provide you with the tools and information you need to be a powerful and effective advocate for the addiction profession, NAADAC has developed the 2020 Advocacy Webinar Series. This exciting five-part webinar series will provide you with information on public policy, the latest updates in federal funding, grassroots advocacy efforts, and more! Earn 7.5 CEs by watching the full series.

Materials from the NAADAC State-level Advocacy Webinar for Affiliates

Materials from NAADAC's Advocacy in Action Conferences

Every year NAADAC hosts an Advocacy Conference for NAADAC members and other passionate addiction-focused professionals from across the country to receive up-to-date information from top federal officials and industry experts on critical issues that impact the addiction-focused profession, and meet with national lawmakers to advocate for the addiction profession.

Strategic Inventory/Strategic Planning Guide for Affiliates

It is hard to get where you want to go without a map! A strategic plan can help your affiliate to be an effective advocate for addiction professionals and the clients you serve. The NAADAC Government Relations Department would be happy to provide support as you develop a strategic plan.

Other Publications

NAADAC & Federal Legislative Coalitions

NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, is a member of the following federal legislative coalitions:

Addiction Leadership Group (ALG)

The Addiction Leadership Group is comprised of a multitude of Executive Directors as well as Directors of Government Relations for those all addiction-focused associations with representation in Washington. The Group meets quarterly in order to coordinate their legislative agendas and other initiatives of mutual interest.

Coalition for Whole Health/Whole Health Campaign (CWH/WHC)

The Coalition for Whole Health (CWH) was created to be the lead entity for legislative action around health reform. The Whole Health Campaign (WHC) was created during the 2008 presidential campaign to promote the importance of mental health and substance abuse issues in campaign platforms. In June 2010, the CWH and WHC merged into one organization to maximize advocacy efforts for the inclusion and coverage of mental health and substance use disorder prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and recovery in the implementation of health care reform.

Friends of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

The Friends of HRSA is an advocacy coalition of more than 100 national organizations, collectively representing millions of public health and health care professionals, academicians, and consumers. Their member organizations strongly support programs that assure Americans' access to health services.

Friends of the Indian Health Service (IHS)

The Friends, organized in 1997, is a coalition of over 44 health organizations and individuals dedicated to improving the health care of American Indians/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people.

Friends of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

The mission of the Friends of NIDA is to facilitate the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s work in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction. Friends of NIDA serves as a panel that advocates to members of Congress on reducing the incidence of drug abuse and addiction by generating broad public and private support for the comprehensive and well funded research agenda for the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The Friends of NIDA seeks to educate the public, policy makers, media, healthcare leaders and treatment providers about research advances for drug treatment and prevention led by NIDA. It seeks to meet its objectives by supporting and supplementing the activities of NIDA, foster greater public understanding of NIDA's role in research and public education, in order to assist the Institute in rapid and effective transfer of scientific data for the benefit of all people affected by drug abuse.

Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG)

The Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) is a coalition representing the diverse behavioral health community that serves adults and children with behavioral health disorders and their families. MHLG consists of a steering committee and two policy-making panels: Health Policy and Budget & Appropriations.

The Health Policy Committee monitors federal developments in behavioral health on such issues as health care reform, Medicare, Medicaid, managed care, parity and medical records privacy.

The Budget & Appropriations Committee annually produces a set of recommended appropriation levels for services programs within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and research initiatives at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAA), and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Patient Protection Coalition promotes a revision of the 42 CFR regulations to help make them more compatible with Electronic Health Records sharing and to enable the sharing of relevant health information between different health providers.

Re-Entry Work Group is a coalition of criminal justice and health care organizations concerned about prisoner re-entry issues. This coalition is the leading advocacy force behind the Second Chance Act, passed in 2008.