Posted: Friday, December 22, 2006 12:00 am
Star-Tribune Editorial Board
Rodger McDaniel isn't going to be Wyoming's new drug czar. But the former director of the Department of Family Services is now in a position to greatly improve the state's substance abuse and treatment efforts.
Gov. Dave Freudenthal appointed McDaniel to head the state's substance abuse program in the Department of Health. The governor also elevated his position to deputy director of the department.
Freudenthal's opponent, Ray Hunkins, challenged the Democratic governor's leadership on the meth issue during the Republican's unsuccessful campaign. Freudenthal has preferred to provide state help to community-based efforts rather than dictate from above. Hunkins, however, promised he would appoint a state director to coordinate the fight against meth and make it a cabinet-level position.
Freudenthal brushed off that suggestion during the campaign, saying Wyoming doesn't need a drug czar. But while the appointment of McDaniel doesn't mean the governor has changed his mind, it does signal that he listened to residents and lawmakers who believe the state could improve the program.
In McDaniel, Freudenthal found the right man for a difficult job. As a consultant, he co-wrote the state plan for the prevention and treatment of substance abuse addiction. McDaniel, a lawyer and former state lawmaker, also wrote legislation to put the plan into effect.
Freudenthal said he's confident the state is headed in the right direction. "But I haven't been satisfied that the program had the energy or leadership it needs," he added. "Rodger will bring that. He's passionate about this program."
A legislative report earlier this year recommended making the head of the substance abuse program a deputy director of the Department of Health. The primary reason was accountability: Amazingly, auditors said they could not determine if $25 million the Legislature initially spent on the program actually produced results. Expenditures were not properly tracked.
Obviously, the governor realized that is unacceptable. Even if the state is enjoying a budget surplus and has a commitment to reduce substance abuse, it can't continue to invest in programs without being able to document if the approach is working.
"(McDaniel) is hard-nosed about accountability," Freudenthal said. "And he will be a much stronger advocate for treatment and prevention."
McDaniel has already made a difference in Wyoming's efforts. He is an ordained minister who has worked with inmates, and he saw firsthand how drug addictions kept bringing people back into the criminal justice system. That experience led him to help write the bill that created the state's drug court program.
McDaniel also has seen the effects of drug abuse from a parent's perspective. He said his daughter used meth as a teenager before successfully receiving treatment and turning her life around.
It's unusual in state government for someone to go from serving as a department director to being a deputy in another department. But for McDaniel, it's the right move. Wyoming needs to use his experience to coordinate the state's plan and his vision to know what direction it needs to go.