The ASAM Criteria
The ASAM Criteria in Policy
Supporting a well-defined, consistent, and evidence-based approach for addiction care through public policy
Policymakers have an important role in shaping how substance use disorder (SUD) care is organized, regulated, and financed across the country. Integrating The ASAM Criteria into state and federal policy helps establish a well-defined, consistent, and evidence-based approach for assessing individual needs and identifying the appropriate level of care for people with SUD.
The ASAM Criteria provides a framework for organizing addiction treatment systems across a continuum of care and a foundation for improving the quality of care. Thoughtful integration of The ASAM Criteria into legislation, regulations, other policies, and contracts can strengthen the quality, consistency, and coverage of treatment, support care decisions, and help individuals achieve remission and recovery.
Speaking the Same Language Toolkit
The Speaking the Same Language toolkit helps policymakers integrate The ASAM Criteria into their approaches to SUD services. It includes high-level policy strategies, potential pathways that policymakers can pursue, implementation vehicles, state examples, and model legislative, regulatory, and contractual language that policymakers can adapt to their needs.
State Regulatory Gap Analysis Template: Adult Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs
Adult residential SUD treatment programs, which provide medically-managed or clinically-monitored care in a 24-hour setting, play a critical role in some patients’ journeys to SUD remission and recovery. Updated state regulations for residential SUD treatment programs are essential for fostering quality residential SUD care. This template provides an easy way to compare existing state regulations for these programs with The ASAM Criteria-aligned best practices and identify areas that may need improvement.
Recovery Residences and The ASAM Criteria, Fourth Edition
The ASAM Criteria’s continuum of care includes recovery residences, which are home or home-like settings that offer opportunities for residents to practice interpersonal and life skills. This policy brief describes where recovery residences fall within the continuum of care described in The ASAM Criteria, including describing how Clinical Recovery Residences are equivalent to The ASAM Criteria Level 3.1 residential treatment programs that apply the social model.
Understanding the differences between these homes or home-like settings and the role they may play in an individual’s recovery journey can inform policy decision-making by advancing appropriate standards for recovery residences and ensuring that residential treatment programs and recovery residences are not treated as interchangeable settings.