NCJ Number
179088
Editor(s)
Alison Dewar,
Ann Farr
Date Published
1996
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This report discusses new options in community care for drug users.
Abstract
Structured day programs, a relatively new option in the treatment and care of drug misusers, provide intensive community-based help. They began early in the 1990s and are now established in more than 20 services in England. The programs, mostly for adults 17 years of age and older, meet the following criteria: clients attend 4 to 5 days a week; a structured approach is provided, either a compulsory rolling program of fixed activities or individually negotiated timetables; and the program has a finite length. Most structured day programs include help to improve clients' social functioning and rehabilitation, skills and vocational or educational goals and a focus on personal independence and responsibility -- enabling drug users to maintain family and social support networks while in treatment. The report discusses both advantages and disadvantages of structured day programs, and describes models for various types of programs, service specifications, managing a structured day program and recommended quality standards.