OUR HISTORY

Saginaw Valley Centers, Inc., dba DOT Caring Centers, Inc., has been licensed by the State of Michigan as a Substance Abuse Treatment Center since January of 1981. A small outpatient clinic was opened in Saginaw, Michigan. The staff consisted of 1 full-time counselor, two part-time counselors, one administrator and one secretary.  Referrals primarily came from both the Saginaw and Bay City General Motors manufacturing plants. In 1985, the State Legislatures passed a new Drinking and Driving law. Saginaw County 70th District Court requested DOT to develop a program for violators of this law. The program, mainly educational, was developed and is still used for the local District Courts at all DOT sites.  

DOT has been providing outpatient services for 38 years. These services have included Group Therapy as the primary modality. Research supports Group Therapy as the most productive level of care. DOT was one of the 1st treatment agencies in Michigan to develop a Day Treatment program (now called IOP) for substance use disorders. We developed an educational level of care in the mid 1980’s, in particular, for clients who were in early stages of abuse/dependency and did not require a more intensive level of care. These groups are still being used especially for the legal system and are now used in Drug Court programs.