march 2024 primary
Yes On Prop F
Illegal Substance Dependence Screening and Treatment for Recipients of City Public Assistance
This measure would require San Francisco County welfare participants to receive substance abuse screenings and enter addiction treatment in order to continue receiving monthly cash stipends. Around 20 percent of current San Francisco County welfare participants state they have a disabling substance use issue—this measure incentivizes treatment for people struggling with substance use disorder.
ENDORSEMENT TEMPERATURE: CAN’T HURT
The Context
This measure attempts to slow down San Francisco's escalating drug crisis by ensuring that welfare participants who are struggling with addiction get treatment. If passed, this proposition would screen people who receive General Assistance from San Francisco County for substance use disorder. If participants with substance use disorder want to continue receiving cash stipends through General Assistance, they would need to enroll in addiction treatment.
San Francisco’s drug crisis is out of control, and it’s getting worse. People who need drug treatment aren’t getting it, and since there’s no way right now to compel people with substance abuse disorder into treatment, drug overdoses are skyrocketing. About 20 percent of the 5,200 San Francisco residents who receive cash stipends from the County Adult Assistance Program (CAAP) say they’re struggling with substance use disorder—this measure gives them an incentive to enter treatment. This proposal alone won’t end the drug crisis, but this can be a tool to compel people with substance use disorder into treatment—a tool San Francisco needs, but is currently without.
But questions still remain about how this measure will be implemented. Since drug testing isn’t required, and sobriety isn’t required for people to continue receiving benefits, how can the city make sure this program is effective? Are there enough beds to accommodate an influx of people who need treatment? These are big questions that don’t appear to be answered yet.
The Support & Opposition
Support comes from measure author Mayor London Breed, and other drug treatment advocates on the Board of Supervisors: Catherine Stefani, Rafael Mandelman, and Matt Dorsey.
Opposition comes from Supervisor Connie Chan, and Board of Supervisors’ President Aaron Peskin also expressed concerns about the proposal.
Anything Else I Should Know?
San Francisco currently has about 2,550 treatment beds, with 350-plus added in recent years. However, a study two years ago found 8,758 homeless individuals grappling with either substance use or mental illness, with 3,070 having both diagnoses. The gap between the need for care and the number of treatment beds raises concerns about the city's capacity to accommodate all those needing treatment under Mayor Breed's proposal. This measure handles one part of the treatment equation—it incentivizes people to enter treatment. But we need a big increase in the number of treatment beds for this proposal to be effective.
Paid for by TogetherSF Action (tsfaction.org). Not authorized by any candidate or committee controlled by a candidate. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.