conclusion

The National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES) was one of the largest and most rigorous studies of substance abuse treatment ever conducted. In the course of its conduct, the study carefully examined many of the most important issues related to substance abuse treatment and came back with clear, unambiguous answers.

Among the key findings of the NTIES study:

  • Clients served by CSAT-funded programs significantly reduced their alcohol and other drug use.

  • Treatment has lasting benefits. Significant reductions in drug and alcohol use were still reported a full year after treatment. Reductions were noted regardless of the amount of time spent in treatment or the amount of treatment received.

  • Clients reported increases in employment and income; improvements in mental and physical health; decreases in criminal activity; decreases in homelessness; and decreases in behaviors that put them at risk for HIV/AIDS infections, one year after treatment.

  • CSAT grants reached their intended clients. Grants made in 1990-1991 distributed approximately $240 million over three years to improve services in more than 430 treatment units serving about 100,000 clients.
  • NTIES Table of Contents | Introduction | Conclusions | Appendix | NTIES Findings on: Drug and Alcohol Use | Changes in Criminal Behavior | Employment, Income, and Homelessness | Changes in Physical and Mental Health | Changes in Sexual Behavior | Variation in Treatment Outcomes | Costs of Treatment