What Is a Drug and Alcohol Assessment?
It is an individual clinical evaluation of your alcohol and drug use. It also goes by drug and alcohol evaluation or chemical dependency evaluation. For behavioral health providers certified by the state, Ohio’s Rule 5122-29-03 says an assessment “Determines diagnosis, treatment needs, and establishes a treatment plan to address the person’s mental illness or substance use disorder.”
The same rule sets what a first assessment must cover, at a minimum:
- “The presenting problem,” meaning what brought you in
- “The risk of harm to self and others”
- “The use of alcohol or drugs”
- “The treatment history for mental illness or substance use/abuse”
- “A medical history and examination (mental status or physical)”
A screening is shorter. Montgomery County’s ADAMHS board, on its substance use treatment page, describes it this way: “Brief screenings are the quickest way to determine if you or someone you care about should connect with a mental health professional.” The assessment is the step that sets the treatment plan.
When Does Ohio Require One?
Most people come for an assessment on their own or because family asked. These are the cases where a court or an employer requires one:
- Intervention in lieu of conviction. When a court schedules a hearing on it, Section 2951.041 says “the court shall order an assessment of the offender for the purpose of determining the offender’s program eligibility for intervention in lieu of conviction and recommending an appropriate intervention plan.” The provider or professional “shall provide a written assessment of the offender to the court.”
- Felony community control. When an offense was related to a drug addiction, Section 2929.15 lets the court “require that the offender be assessed by a properly credentialed professional within a specified period of time.”
- A second OVI in ten years. Under Section 4511.19, the court “shall require the offender to be assessed by a community addiction services provider” and must order the person to follow the provider’s treatment recommendations. The assessment is “to determine whether or not treatment is warranted.”
- A first OVI in ten years. The court can suspend the three-day jail term and require “a drivers’ intervention program certified under section 5119.38 of the Revised Code” instead. Rule 5122-29-12 defines that program as “a program of screening, education, and referral.”
- Transportation jobs. Federal rules require workers in safety-sensitive transportation jobs who break the drug and alcohol rules to complete an evaluation by a substance abuse professional before going back to those duties. 49 CFR 40.285 says “The first step in this process is a SAP evaluation.”
If a judge, probation officer or employer told you to get an assessment, ask them which providers they accept before you go. Our guide to court-ordered addiction treatment in Ohio walks through the court routes in detail.
What Happens at the Assessment
At Leora Behavioral Health, a clinician asks about your medical history, your current alcohol and drug use, the medications you take and any mental health conditions. The clinician then works out which level of care fits. If detox is a question, a nurse practitioner and a registered nurse decide whether ambulatory detox is safe for you.
You can bring a family member or someone else you trust; it can help with the parts of your history that are hard to recall. The assessment does not commit you to treatment.
If treatment is recommended, you start at the level the assessment sets. At Leora that can be outpatient treatment, an intensive outpatient program, a partial hospitalization program or ambulatory detox.
What to Bring
For an assessment at Leora, bring:
- A photo ID
- Your insurance card
- A current list of your medications
- Your discharge plan, if you are coming from another program
If the assessment is for a court or an employer, bring the paperwork that asks for it.
Who Pays for an Assessment?
Ohio Medicaid covers a substance use disorder assessment from a community behavioral health agency. Rule 5160-27-02 limits it to two a year: it “is limited to two assessments per recipient, per billing agency, per calendar year,” and “These limits can be exceeded with prior authorization from the ODM designated entity.”
Leora accepts every Ohio Medicaid plan and every commercial insurance carrier, and admissions can check your coverage while you are on the phone. Our Ohio Medicaid page has more on coverage.
In Franklin County, the ADAMH Board funds more than 35 not-for-profit contract agencies and says “A sliding fee scale for services means any Franklin County resident can receive needed services and be charged on the basis of income and circumstance.” Our guide to free and low-cost addiction treatment in Ohio covers other options.
Where to Get an Assessment in Columbus and Dayton
- Leora Behavioral Health. Walk in at either facility or call admissions first: Leora in Columbus or Leora in Dayton. You do not need a referral.
- Columbus Public Health. Its Alcohol & Drug Services division, at 240 Parsons Ave., runs a treatment program that includes “assessments, intensive outpatient treatment groups and medication-assisted treatment,” according to its listing with the ADAMH Board of Franklin County.
- Public Health, Dayton & Montgomery County. Its Recovery Services program at 1 Elizabeth Place SE in Dayton lists “Screening and assessment” among its treatment services.
- Anywhere in Ohio. RecoveryRachel, the state’s RecoveryOhio directory, lets you “Search for mental health and recovery services by location, insurance, specialty or more.”
Who Sees Your Results?
You get the recommendation, and the provider uses it to plan your care. When a court orders the assessment, the results go to the court: in intervention in lieu of conviction the statute requires a written assessment, and in a second OVI case the provider must send the results when the court asks.
Federal confidentiality rules cover the records of many substance use programs. Under 42 CFR 2.35, such a program can share information with the people in the criminal justice system “who have made participation in the part 2 program a condition of the disposition of any criminal proceedings against the patient,” and only when “The patient has signed a written consent” that meets the rule’s requirements.
If Someone Is in Danger Now
Call 911 in an emergency. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988. The 988 Lifeline says it “is available 24/7/365.”
