Our History
In 1987 the “treatment industry” was in crisis and on the verge of complete collapse. At the hands of the “managed cost revolution”, the national capacity of 35,000 treatment beds shrunk to less than 3,000. Most providers were helpless and had little or no ability to demonstrate to funders and payers that their services were making any difference in communities across the country.
In response to this catastrophic implosion in behavioral health treatment funding, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) created the Committee on Benefits (COB). COB was tasked with finding ways to address the challenges created by the “managed cost” revolution as well as expanded access to treatment for previously underserved populations.
In 2000, COB spun off from NCADD and became C4 Recovery Solutions, a 501 (c) 3. Well known as C4, the newly formed not-for-profit organization expanded its goals to include enlarging access to quality behavioral treatment services for disadvantaged people, as well as improving their clinical and financial accountability. C4 advanced these priorities by initiating constructive dialogue among interested groups, and by educating and motivating policy makers to embrace new strategies. C4 also aiding in the design and construction of these programs while working diligently to implement outcomes-based service models by educating payers and providers across the country.
As a result of becoming an “educator” in behavioral health and addiction, C4 expanded its efforts by entering the conference arena in 1999. Through the purchase of the Cape Cod Symposium on Addictive Disorders, and other national conferences, including the West Coast Symposium on Addictive Disorders, C4 became the preeminent provider of high-quality education for treatment providers.
The past four years saw a deterioration in the conference business model, resulting in C4 selling the division to the largest provider of medical conferences in the world, HMP Global. The sale provides C4 the opportunity to focus deeply on our mission and the foundation’s work in advocacy and policy making. This important work is our passion and our calling.
C4 Recovery’s Impact Across the World
38
Years of Experience
30+
National and International Projects
1.5 mil
Lives Impacted
Our Core Truths
We’re dedicated to the premise that we all benefit when the burdens created by behavioral health and substance use disorders are effectively addressed. Furthermore, we believe there is a disproportionate societal advantage to people of wealth, and that people of color are particularly at risk.
We believe that all stakeholders must collaborate, use current knowledge, and dedicate themselves to the needs of individuals, families, and communities, and that this can only occur when precise, complete, and rigorous knowledge is easily accessed and effectively conveyed.
We believe that behavioral health and substance use disorders represent a fundamental challenge and threat to the integrity and security of our society.
We believe that fostering the ability of individuals, their families, and communities leads to productive and rewarding lives. Further, we see that the scale and scope of this issue has become so pervasive that it constitutes a global and generational crisis.
We believe that all communities must have an ability to respond to the needs of their citizens impacted by behavioral health and substance use issues. And as much as communities invest in public health, public safety, and other crisis response capacities, they should also respond to the public health and safety challenges of behavioral health and substance use issues.
