Editorial Policy
The Blackburn Foundation publishes guides to help people find and pay for addiction and mental health treatment. This policy explains who writes them, which sources we use, how we date and update them, and how to report an error.
Who writes our guides?
Our guides are written by Robby Patrick, President and Founder of The Blackburn Foundation. Robby is an addiction specialist in the behavioral health field. He has supported recovery-based services in Los Angeles since 2012 and has more than 40,000 hours of hands-on experience in substance use disorder treatment. Each guide shows its author.
What sources do we use?
General facts about treatment, insurance and public programs come from public sources: government health agencies and research institutes such as SAMHSA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, HealthCare.gov and Medicaid.gov, and professional bodies such as the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Every guide lists its sources at the end, with links.
What a guide says about The Blackburn Foundation’s own programs comes from the Foundation and matches what we publish on our Treatment Scholarships page.
How do we date and update guides?
Each guide shows the date it was published and the date it was last updated. When we change a guide, for example because a source has changed or we have corrected an error, we change its Updated date.
What are our guides not?
- They are general information, not medical, legal or financial advice, and they do not replace a qualified professional.
- They do not name or rank treatment programs.
- They do not use information from scholarship applications. Applicant information is confidential. See our Privacy Policy.
How do I report an error?
Tell us through the Contact page, by email at info@theblackburnfoundation.org, or by phone at (888) 305-5422. Please include the page address and what you think is wrong.
If this is an emergency.
Our guides are not a crisis service. If you or someone near you is in danger now, call 911. For a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. It is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day.