About
About New Chance Inc
New Chance Inc has served southwest Kansas from its Dodge City campus on East Wyatt Earp Boulevard since 1975, and the organization marked its fiftieth year of continuous operation in 2025. The program is a community substance use treatment provider rather than a national chain, and its long tenure has given it deep roots with referral sources in Ford County and across the rural counties that surround it, where licensed substance use beds are otherwise scarce.
The clinical continuum begins with a social detox unit that operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, providing immediate stabilization for individuals with acute substance-related problems. From there, clients can step into residential intermediate treatment for men, or into outpatient and intensive outpatient counseling that serves both men and women through group classes and one-to-one sessions. Extended care is available for qualifying male clients who have successfully completed residential treatment, and licensed peer support services are offered to men and women as a component of qualifying programs.
The staff team is intentionally local. Executive Director Doug Austen, a Dodge City native who joined the agency in 2012, leads administration. Clinical Manager Bailey Schafer, who returned home to Cimarron after earning a master’s degree at the University of Kansas, teaches cognitive-behavioral groups and follows residential clients through up to eighteen months of services. The clinical team includes Marla Howell (LAC), Cindy Dobratz (LMAC, LPC), Donnie Barrand (LAC), Anthony Koontz (LAC), Jennifer Cannon (LAC), and Brenda Marquez (LMSW), supported by Peer Support specialist Aaron Necas and Residential Supervisor Todd Bittle. Financial Manager Mistilyn Blackburn plays a central role in navigating funding sources, which is critical in a region where many clients need help piecing together Medicaid, state grants, sliding-scale arrangements, and other supports to make treatment financially possible.
New Chance accepts Medicaid, private insurance, state insurance, self-pay, sliding scale, and financial assistance, and the program describes itself as committed to comprehensive continuum-of-care collaboration with other community providers for clients whose substance use needs overlap with medical and social needs. Services are delivered in English, and the campus is positioned to provide treatment in a focused, serene environment in the heartland of Kansas.
- 24/7 social detox unit with continuous medical supervision during withdrawal
- Nearly five decades of addiction treatment experience since 1975
- Seamless transition from medical detox to residential treatment on-site
- Comprehensive payment options including Medicaid, sliding scale, and financial assistance
- Licensed clinical team with specialized addiction counseling credentials