During the past several years, the landscape of substance abuse problems and treatments has continued to change in the State of California. The emergence of new drug abuse problems (e.g., prescription drugs), the impact of precursor restrictions on the domestic production of methamphetamine and the compensatory increases in methamphetamine importation, the development and expanded use of medications for addiction, and the increasing awareness of the chronic nature of alcohol and other drug (AOD) conditions have dramatically transformed the way we conceptualize treatment for addiction, what we expect from treatment, and how we evaluate treatment.
Given that most treatment for substance use disorders is provided through public funding, there is considerable interest in ensuring that treatment programs in California are using public dollars responsibly by performing efficiently (providing quality services) and producing positive client outcomes. As part of this effort to improve treatment accountability and outcomes, the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP) developed the California Outcomes Measurement System (CalOMS) for treatment, the first statewide data collection and management system implemented in all 58 counties to comprehensively measure AOD client outcomes. The CalOMS core data set includes questions on client functioning across medical, psychiatric, employment, legal, family/social, and alcohol and drug use areas. Treatment programs are responsible for collecting this core data from all clients at treatment admission and discharge.
One year after the implementation of CalOMS, the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs (ISAP) group from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), conducted the first evaluation of CalOMS under the guise of four objectives:
Objective 1: Use CalOMS data to improve knowledge of AOD treatment services in California
Objective 2: Enhance the capability of county administrators to use CalOMS data to improve treatment service
Objective 3: Evaluate the quality and validity of CalOMS data
Objective 4: Develop recommendations for improvement of the CalOMS system
This final report is divided into eight chapters that address research questions specific to each of the four evaluation objectives. While information in each chapter is relevant to each of the four objectives, the first five chapters provide information that responds to Objective 1, Chapter 6 specifically addresses Objective 2, Chapter 7 is in response to Objective 3, and the last chapter responds to Objective 4.
Addressing these objectives will help ADP improve the quality and performance of AOD treatment services in California and maximize the usability of CalOMS data to enhance treatment policies and
practices in California.
