The National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimates for 23 measures of substance use and mental health problems or four age groups: the entire state population over the age of 2 (12+); individuals age 12 to 17; individuals age 18 to 25; 1and individuals age 26 and older (26+). Since state estimates of substance use and abuse were first generated using the combined 2002-2003 NSDUHs and continuing until the most recent state estimates based on the combined 2005-2006 surveys, Wisconsin has consistently ranked among the 10 States with the highest rates on the following measures :

Measure	Age Groups
Past Month Alcohol Use	12+, 12-17, 12-20, 26+
Past Month Binge Alcohol Use	12+, 12-17, 12-20, 26+
Least Perception of Harm Associated with Having Five or More Drinks of an Alcoholic Beverage Once or Twice a Week	12+, 12-17, 12-20, 26+

Abuse and Dependance

Questions in NSDUH are used to classify persons as being dependent on or abusing specific substances based on criteria specified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Rates of past year alcohol dependence or abuse in Wisconsin have generally been higher than the national rates across all survey years. This is particularly true for the population of young adults age 18 to 25 (Chart 1).Rates of past year drug dependence or abuse, however, have generally been below the national rates (Chart 2).

Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities

According to the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS)3 annual surveys, the number of treatment facilities in Wisconsin has decreased from 324 in 2002, to 290 in 2006. In the latest survey, Wisconsin had 134 private nonprofit facilities and 102 private for-profit facilities. In addition, 13 facilities are owned or operated by Tribal authorities.Although facilities may offer more than one modality of care, in 2006 the majority of Wisconsin facilities ((235 of 290, or 81%) offered some form of outpatient treatment. Residential care was available at 67 facilities, and 15 facilities offered an opioid treatment program. In addition, 93 physicians and 59 treatment programs were certified to provide buprenorphine care for opiate addiction.

In 2006, 60 percent of all facilities (174 of 290) received some form of Federal, State, county, or local government funds, and 196 facilities (68%) had agreements or contracts with managed care organizations for the provision of substance abuse treatment services.

Treatment

State treatment data for substance use disorders are derived from two primary sources—an annual one-day census in N-SSATS and annual treatment admissions from the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).4 In the 2006 N-SSATS survey, Wisconsin showed a one-day total of 17,846 clients in treatment, the majority of whom (16,558 or 93%) were in outpatient treatment. Of the total number of clients in treatment on this date, 1,974 (11%) were under the age of 18.Chart 3 shows the percent of admissions mentioning particular drugs or alcohol at the time of admission.

Across the years for which TEDS data are available, Wisconsin has seen a modest shift in the constellation of problems present at treatment admission. Alcohol-only admissions have declined from 62 percent of all admissions in 1992, to 55 percent in 2005. Concomitantly, drug-only admissions have increased from 4 percent in 1992, to 15 percent in 2005 (Chart 4).

Unmet Need For Treatment

Across all survey years and for all age groups, Wisconsin has generally ranked among the 10 States with the highest rates of unmet need for alcohol treatment. This is especially true for the population of young adults age 18 to 25 (Chart 5).The rate of unmet treatment for drug use, especially among the population of young adults, has generally been at or below the national rate (Chart 6).