NCJ Number
172394
Journal
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors Volume: 11 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (December 1997) Pages: 244-260
Date Published
1997
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Program and client data from the Drug Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (DATOS) were used to examine program structural and treatment characteristics in 1991-93; similar data from the Treatment Outcome Prospective Study were used to compare the characteristics of DATOS programs with those in 1979-1981.
Abstract
Drug abuse treatment typically consisted of supportive therapy delivered primarily in groups, emphasizing abstinence from all illicit substances, including alcohol, buttressed by relapse prevention and urine monitoring during treatment. Secondary treatment emphases reflected each modality's unique orientations. Over the two eras, comprehensive services declined while many core elements of treatment strengthened, including client awareness of treatment plans and posttreatment involvement in 12-step groups. Some programs began to experience structural changes that resulted from cost containment and managed care. With the changing client markets that program directors reported, some programs indicated that they were not admitting types of clients that they had not previously treated. Many of these clients had special needs that programs were not always equipped to address. Because few community-based treatment programs have the array of services needed to address a wide range of client needs, programs must establish effective mechanisms of community agency service referral and must identify resources to fund needed services. Findings from the DATOS program-level data described here suggest that drug abuse treatment programs do not have strong positive client recruitment or service-referral relationships with some community agencies. 6 tables and 24 references