The department may

(1) plan, establish, and maintain programs for the prevention and treatment of alcoholism, drug abuse, and misuse of hazardous volatile materials and substances by inhalant abusers;

(2) make contracts and award grants necessary or incidental to the performance of its duties and the execution of its powers, including contracts with the grants to public and private agencies, organizations, and individuals, to pay them for services rendered or furnished to alcoholics, intoxicated persons, drug abusers, or inhalant abusers; to the maximum extent possible, contracts and grants must be for a period of two years; contracts under this paragraph are governed by AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code);

(3) solicit and accept for use a gift of money or property or a grant of money, services, or property from the federal government, the state or a political subdivision of it, or a private source, and do all things necessary to cooperate with the federal government or any of its agencies in making an application for a grant;

(4) administer or supervise the administration of the provisions relating to alcoholics, intoxicated persons, drug abusers, and inhalant abusers of state plans submitted for federal funding under federal health, welfare, or treatment legislation;

(5) coordinate its activities and cooperate with alcoholism, drug abuse, and inhalant abuse programs in this and other states, and make contracts and other joint or cooperative arrangements with state, local, or private agencies for the treatment of alcoholics, intoxicated persons, drugs abusers, and inhalant abusers, and for the common advancement of alcoholism, drug abuse, and inhalant abuse programs in this and other states;

(6) keep records and engage in research and the gathering of relevant statistics;

(7) do other acts necessary to implement the authority expressly granted to it;

(8) acquire, hold, or dispose of real property or any interest in it, and construct, lease, or otherwise provide treatment facilities for alcoholics, intoxicated persons, drug abusers, and inhalant abusers; however, the department shall encourage local initiative, involvement, and financial participation under grants-in-aid whenever possible in preference to the construction or operation of facilities directly by the department; contracting and construction under this paragraph are governed by AS 36.30 (State Procurement Code);

(9) strengthen and enhance the process for identifying people who have co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders;

(10) establish a secure enhanced detoxification and treatment center for persons involuntarily detained because they are likely to inflict physical harm to self or others; in this paragraph, “enhanced” means the ability to treat co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders;

(11) develop and implement a substance abuse treatment system using evidence-based best practices or, if evidence-based best practices do not exist, research-based practices, that includes a procedure for adapting the practices to new situations and for collaboration with consumer-based programs; if research-based practices are not known or available, the department may include consensus-based or, if funds are available, promising practices; a practice must promote independence, recovery, employment, education, ongoing community-based treatment, housing, and other aspects of harm reduction.