Describes our 2000-2002 national evaluation of projects supported by the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Fund (DATF) in Wales, detailing two particular projects, the North Wales Community Drug and Alcohol Liaison Midwife position and the Option 2 project in Cardiff. (4,837 words)
As indicated in an earlier chapter, I won the tender to evaluate all projects supported by the Drug and Alcohol Treatment Fund (DATF) in Wales early in the year 2000. The DATF was developed by the National Assembly for Wales (in effect the Welsh Government) in response to the recognised shortage of addiction treatment services, in particular for young people.
Although the funding £1.5 million per annum was initially conceived as being entirely for treatment, it was soon recognised that it must be used for a wider set of activities, including prevention and training. Organisations submitted bids for funding to their respective Drug and Alcohol Action Teams (DAATs)—Bro Taf, Dyfed Powys, Gwent, Morgannwg and North Wales.
The Gwent DAAT co-ordinator, David Jeremiah, was given the responsibility of initiating, developing and organising the DATF, which started on 1 April 2000. Each DAAT was given an annual sum for evaluating, monitoring and supporting projects, of which part was top-sliced to provide funding for a National Evaluation—funding was given to my employer, the University of Wales Swansea (as it was known then)—whilst the remainder was used for local evaluation.
