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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (9 August) . . Page.. 2984 ..

6/7. Since opening in early February the Ted Noffs Plan for Adolescent Life Management (PALM) program has graduated two residents through its three-month program. In total 19 young people have been admitted - seven of these are currently in residence (five female and two male). Formal graduation should not be used as the sole, or even the primary marker of the worth or success of programs for young,people who offen "cycle" through episodes of help seeking. In addition to the two graduates, a further six young people have stayed between 40 and 60 days within PALM. Currently there is one young woman on the waiting list. Clients are actively case-managed while awaiting admission.

8a. Arcadia House does not operate a formal waiting list. Prospective clients ring each morning to determine whether a bed is available. A bed is often available on the same day but demand for withdrawal services varies considerably.

8b. People seeking to access Karralika first undergo a face to face assessment to determine suitability for the program. If a client is assessed as suitable, they are placed on a waiting list and actively case-managed prior to admission. The waiting list is capped at 20 people and the length of time between acceptance to the program and commencement is currently around two weeks. Waiting time is affected by issues such as whether a client has undergone detoxification, is waiting to be released from prison or has other legal or financial issues needing resolution. The Department of Health, Housing and Community Care, in partnership with ADFACT, is currently undertaking a feasibility study into the possibility of expanding the number of beds available at Karralika.

9/10. There are no people waiting to enter any of the methadone streams. There is immediate access available for all methadone streams.

11. 18 Community Pharmacies currently dispense methadone in the ACT. The Government Alcohol and Drug Program has recently recruited an experienced methadone pharmacist from South Australia to work with ACT pharmacies to encourage them to participate in the program and offers training to pharmacy staff. The ACT Pharmacy Guild participates actively in the Methadone Advisory Committee and works with their members to encourage participation.

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