Overview
Under the authorization provided by the 21st Century Cures Act, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) launched FindTreatment.gov as a centralized source for finding substance use and mental health treatment. As of a 2023 audit, they had 22,106 facilities listed.
History
While SAMHSA itself has procedures to update the directory when information changes or inaccuracies are reported, these are largely reliant on voluntary survey responses and cooperation with Single State Agencies. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) audited the directory and found that approximately two-thirds of sampled facilities contained some inaccurate information, including addresses or treatment approaches offered. For every 100 sampled facilities, 66 contained inaccurate information with 14 containing inaccurate contact information and 62 containing inaccurate services information. The latter is a lot more concerning than the former. From the audit report:
“SAMHSA officials said that after contact and services information is reported on FindTreatment.gov, SAMHSA and the Contractor do not reach out to a facility to verify its information until the following year’s Survey starts or until being informed of changes by the facility, a Single State Agency, or a consumer.”
Dr. Cara Poland, an assistant professor at Michigan State University, told CNN in 2022: “It’s being treated as a gold-standard tool, but it’s not.” Jonathan Stoltman, directory of the Opioid Policy Institute in Michigan, remarked “we need FindTreatment.gov to be better… it’s crucial to get this right.” Some private and independent alternative directories shut down because they trusted FindTreatment.gov to do what they used to do.
This site emerged in part because gaps don’t just exist in navigating the world of mental health, but are arguably increasing alongside a doubling of the world’s population living with a mental health condition since 1990. The need to step back and comprehensively rebuild recovery perspectives is paramount in addressing substance use and mental health disorders.
Links
- https://findtreatment.gov/
- https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/findtreatment-gov-launches-help-americans-find-treatment-substance-use-disorders/
- https://oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2025/samhsas-findtreatmentgov-contained-some-inaccurate-information-on-substance-use-and-mental-health-treatment-facilities/
- https://oig.hhs.gov/documents/audit/10243/A-09-23-01003.pdf
- https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/11/health/national-addiction-treatment-locator-khn/index.html