NCJ Number
198123
Journal
Journal of Psychoactive Drugs Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: January/March 2002 Pages: 51-57
Date Published
January 2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study tested the effectiveness of a case management model implemented through a centralized intake unit (CIU).
Abstract
Case management (CM) is generally defined as a coordinated approach to the delivery of various types of health and human services, with the primary goal of linking clients with appropriate services to meet their specific individual needs. Client advocacy is basic to case management. The study tested whether CM participants received more front-end adjunct service referrals than no case management(No-CM) participants; whether CM participants were more likely to show up for treatment than No-CM participants; and whether CM participants demonstrated different treatment retention rates as compared to No-CM participants. Study participants were randomly assigned with equal probability to the CM condition or the No-CM condition within each gender by substance use pattern block. Results show that a significantly higher percentage of CM participants received CIU ancillary service referrals as compared to the participants in the No-CM cohort. The CM participants demonstrated a significantly higher show-rate to treatment. There were no significant differences between the two conditions regarding treatment retention. It was observed that the case management services provided through the CIU might have been effective in ensuring that younger participants showed to treatment. It might be concluded that the most valuable function of CM services provided through a CIU is to increase the possibility that assessed clients will present to the programs to which they are referred. This in itself seems to justify the inclusion of this level of CM as part of a CIU’s responsibility. 2 tables, 27 references