Drs Pielech, Miranda Publish Policy Position Statement Regarding Allocation of Opioid Settlement Funds

young people in group

Drs Melissa Pielech and Robert Miranda, in conjunction with co-authors and the Society of Behavioral Medicine, published a policy position statement advocating for allocating funds from opioid settlement lawsuits towards expansion of youth substance use treatment.

The authors state:

Less than 1 out of 10 youth that need substance use treatment actually receive it and opioid-related overdoses are killing American youth at unprecedented rates. In this position statement, sponsored by the Society of Behavioral Medicine, we advocate to:

1) use money from opioid settlement lawsuits to fund opioid and other substance use treatment for youth that is evidence-based, developmentally tailored, and culturally informed and
2) expand care coordination programs that support youth in accessing substance use treatment services.

The statement was also endorsed by the:

  • American Psychological Association (APA) 
  • Society of Addiction Psychology (APA Division 50)
  • Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies
  • Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
  • Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (APA Division 53)
  • Society of Pediatric Psychology (APA Division 54)

Read the full statement here: https://sbm.org/UserFiles/YouthOpioidTreatment.pdf