Substance abuse in the United States has reached catastrophic proportions. 23.6 million people needed treatment for an illicit drug or alcohol use problem (1). According to the National Association of Social Workers, 60% of all mental health services are carried out by social workers (3). Therefore, social workers are in a critical and unique…

Aims: To examine the quality of screening and assessment practices at some of the most highly regarded adolescent substance use treatment programs in the United States. Methods: Between March and September 2005, telephone surveys were administered to directors of highly regarded programs. Several different publications and databases were then used…

This study reports the results of a five-year follow-up survey of private-pay outdoor behavioral healthcare (OBH) programs operating in the United States and Canada. A total of 65 of 102 programs identified as meeting certain characteristics responded to the survey and identified themselves as an OBH program that utilizes a clinical treatment…