Advocacy, education, and political action are the core activities of the NAADAC Public Policy Department.
NAADAC continues to focus on the following initiatives:
- Ensuring that the Affordable Care Act is not repealed until there is a substantive replacement that meets the needs of those with substance use and co-occurring disorders and that insurance parity for substance use and co-occurring disorders are fairly and effectively implemented and monitored.
- Growing and developing the addiction professional workforce in the 21st century.
- Increasing federal funding levels for addiction prevention, treatment, recovery, and research programs.
NAADAC believes that advocacy is the lifeblood of securing and sustaining the addiction profession and uses the following list of components as tools to empower addiction-focused professionals and educate policymakers:
Without the dedicated advocates who empower the profession, our members and their clients will not have a voice.
What is public policy? It is a body of laws, plans, actions, and behaviors of a government and in this case, NAADAC, that reflect the attitudes and rules selected for the good of the substance use disorder/addiction clients, their families and the addiction professionals who serve them.
Why is public policy important to the addiction professional? Public policy is the vehicle through which we can ensure the work of addiction-focused professionals is sustained and secured through funding, education/training, and other supportive systems.