The first conclusion is that the length of residential programming is not a critical variable in treatment outcome. Longer programs have not been shown to produce more effective outcomes. The second conclusion is that detoxification services need not be on an inpatient basis. Pharmaceutical detoxification on an outpatient basis has shown promise. The third conclusion is that day treatment programs can be as effective as inpatient programs. Day treatment programs have proven as or more effective than inpatient programs and at less cost. The fourth conclusion is that outpatient programs have produced comparable results to inpatient programs. The outpatient programs typically see the alcoholic for an hour a week or an hour every other week. The fifth conclusion is that the critical aspect of treatment is not the initiation of behavioral change, but the maintenance of that change over time. In this regard, the Addiction Research Foundation uses homework assignments and performance-based assignments that put persons at risk of relapsing and that attempt to get them to behave differently in risk situations, come back, and report success.