Federal Officials Suspend Database of Programs to Treat Addiction and Mental Illness

Health officials have suspended a database of programs that help prevent and treat addiction and mental illness, The Washington Post reports.

The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices, run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, was suspended in September. No new postings have been added since then. The database includes hundreds of programs that have been evaluated by an independent contractor and found scientifically valid.

Addiction and mental health specialists say they rely on the database to find appropriate and effective treatments, the article notes. Officials would not say why the database was suspended. They confirmed the contract for running the database will be taken over by a new entity, which they said is working closely with other parts of the agency to “institute an even more scientifically rigorous approach to better inform the identification and implementation of evidence-based programs and practices.”