This paper presents findings from the first 18 months of a three-year evaluation of an innovative adaptation of a successful residential substance abuse treatment program for homeless women with children. The expanded CSAT-funded, community-based outpatient program is designed to include low income women residing in the Mott Haven community of the South Bronx in which it is located. This community, one of the poorest in the United States, has a high rate of substance abuse and insufficient services to meet its needs. In response to both welfare reform and lessons learned from our previous experience, the newly expanded program is employment-focused and places a great deal of emphasis on vocational training and job placement. The goals of the program--treatment, education, and employment --are viewed as working together so that accomplishing one will make the other more likely to occur. The program includes integrated treatment planning, educational remediation and skill building, and job development and placement as integral parts of an holistic, women-centered treatment program. On-site child care and parenting classes are also provided. Women in the program are predominantly African American (63%) and forty-five percent have a history of full-time employment. Follow-up data are collected for 18 months. Low-income women in a well-established substance abuse treatment program comprise the comparison group. Attainment of enrollment goals (n=60), length of stay, program completion, posttreatment abstinence, job training, and employment outcomes are presented. The evaluation will provide valuable information on effective strategies for the consolidation of substance abuse treatment and job readiness perspectives.
Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will learn to identify elements and outcomes of an employment-focused substance abuse treatment program for women receiving TANF. 2. Participants will discuss issues related to the evaluation of employment and substance abuse treatment programs
Keywords: Drug Abuse Treatment, Evaluation
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.