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US government considers every citizen’s life important. With this intention in mind, it has banned the use of substance consumption by people working in industries where use of substance could potentially put the life of other citizens in danger.
Therefore, industries like road transport, aviation, defense, oil industry, and others have made annual substance abuse evaluations compulsory. All people employed in such industries must take annual substance and alcohol abuse evaluation, irrespective of their position in the hierarchy.
Any person that fails substance use evaluations due to any reason is suspended and asked to go off duty from immediate effect. This is done as a measure to dissuade people from substance abuse, and to protect life and property of other people.
How long is the suspension for substance evaluation?
As per the rules, once you are suspended from duty for substance abuse, you are required to go through substance rehabilitation, get substance use evaluation from a registered and verified practitioner. Upon clearing the second test, you can either apply for job elsewhere or rejoin your duty again. In reality, suspension can take from a minimum of 2 years, till the time you clear the substance assessment test.
What are other reasons for substance use evaluation?
There can be multiple reasons when you might be asked to take substance abuse evaluations other than compulsory annual substance assessments.
Order of the court:
If you are entangled in a court case and the court asks you to get your substance evaluation to accept you as a sane person. There are multiple reasons when you could be facing a court case and opposition accuses you of substance use for their advantage.
In such circumstances, you could be asked to take substance use evaluation in order to help court reach a clear decision.
Divorce case:
In many divorce cases, your spouse believes that you consume substance. In order to prove his/her point, your spouse can ask the court to demand substance abuse evaluation.
Working in sensitive sector:
If you are working in a sector that is described as sensitive or public by the government, you must go through the periodic alcohol and substance abuse evaluation. These evaluations are mandatory for all people working in such sectors and any violations to the guidelines mentioned, results in suspension from duty.
Violation of alcohol or substance use:
In case of a complaint against you or if you have been caught violating alcohol or drug use, you may be asked to get alcohol and substance abuse evaluation at the earliest so that you can rejoin the duty.
Seeking employment in oil and gas industry:
If you are seeking employment in industries like oil and gas or transport, you may be asked to go through mandatory substance use assessment to ensure that you pass through all the guidelines mentioned in the employment conditions.
Where to get substance evaluations:
If you need to get substance evaluation for any of the reasons mentioned above, you can Google your search.
Affordable Evaluations is one of the most professional and authorized agencies that can help you take substance abuse evaluation at the earliest. It also has professionals that can guide you best possible ways to clear your substance evaluations so that you can get back to duty.
The need for the assessment of substance abuse evaluation is crucial to identify underlying issues, substance abuse history, co-occurring disorders, medical conditions and behavioral health treatment history.These individuals do not suffer consequences as a result of their alcohol or drug use immediately but tend to suffer in the long run in the areas of relationships, health, legal, or occupational issues.
A substance abuse evaluation can be an eye opener for many.
It helps in educating the individual and their family members on the extent of that individual's actual problem.
Usually strong professional treatments and therapy sessions are recommended to such individuals and have been proven to be a turning point with their substance/alcohol or drug issue.
To reap the maximum benefits of treatment, the highest level of accountability is required and expected of the client and a strong peer to peer support network often ensures the same.There are some legal situations wherein substance abuse evaluation becomes mandatory such as:Driving While Ability ImpairedDWAI Driving Under the Influence (DUI)Custody disputeArrest for other crimes where the individual was intoxicatedSometimes concerned friends or family members may also request for substance abuse evaluation in cases like:Parents of dependent or non dependent child who suspect alcohol and/or drug use in their childrenA spouseAdults who are suspecting increased substance/drug/alcohol usage in their parentsIn some rare cases, employers also seek for evaluation of their employees in cases like:High absenteeismErratic behavior in any employeeFrequent and unpredictable mood swingsComing to work intoxicated which is the most common oneDrinking on the jobPositive random drug screens to ensure healthy work environment There are several types of Assessments as well-Substance use assessment (usually utilized for court cases that need of alcohol/ drug evaluation)Drug Free Workplace evaluationDOT SAP EvaluationSubstance Use EvaluationBasic information gathered during an alcohol and drug evaluation includes:DemographicsFamily backgroundSocial historyOccupational historyLegal historyMedical historyMental health historySubstance use history and patternsObservation for mood, behavior and mental statusRisk assessmentHere we have shared some of the most common recommendations after assessment as well which the individual might get after assessment.
These recommendations will vary from individual to individual based on the level of severity of the case.No Services needed at this timeMonitoring for further assessmentOutpatient Education ServicesCommunity Support GroupsIndividual Outpatient CounselingGroup TherapyIntensive Outpatient Program (IOP)Partial Hospitalization or Day TreatmentDetoxificationInpatient TreatmentIf you would like to have a thorough meeting, make sure you connect with us.
