Adolescent Health and Recovery Treatment and Training (AHARTT) Outcome Evaluation

The goal of this study is to evaluate client outcomes for clients served by mental health providers who participate in training in one of two evidence-based treatments and provide these therapies to adolescent clients (ages 12 – 17 years old) with substance use disorders. University of Kentucky Center on Drug and Alcohol Research Behavioral Outcome Studies team (UK CDAR BHOS) will conduct the client-level outcome evaluation. Examination of client-level outcomes will use a combination of self-report measures, secondary data of treatment services, and possibly some drug screens (for a select subgroups) to assess change in key factors of adolescents’ behavior and functioning pre-treatment and post-treatment and to allow for comparison of client outcomes for adolescents who received CBT and FFT treatment (following the statewide training dissemination) with outcomes for adolescents who received substance abuse treatment as usual in Kentucky’s community mental health centers. This outcome evaluation for AHARTT will build off the Adolescent Kentucky Treatment Outcome Study (AKTOS) and will be conducted with clients of providers who receive the training on two EBPs: cognitive behavioral therapy and FFT. The existing components of AKTOS include an intake survey and a 12-month follow-up survey. Intake surveys are completed with adolescent clients as they enter substance abuse treatment. Clinicians complete the intake survey with clients using an online survey and Client Information System (CIS). The UK CDAR BHOS research team conducts follow-up surveys 12 months after treatment intake with eligible adolescents who consented to being contacted for the follow-up study. Additional components to be developed and added to conduct this outcome evaluation for the clients of clinicians who receive AHARTT-sponsored training are: (1) a client registration system that will provide a count of all adolescents served by the Kentucky Kids Recovery Programs and the clinicians trained in evidence-based treatments through AHARTT; (2) a discharge status and service encounter form which will include information about the client’s discharge date and status, along with data on types of services provided during the treatment episode; and (3) a discharge survey with the client that will include some of the same measures as the intake survey to examine change in key targeted factors from pre-treatment to discharge. The main evaluation measures focus on specific outcomes that have been established in the research literature as relevant to substance abuse (e.g., health, mental health, relationship with the caregiver, education, employment, criminal justice system involvement, recovery support). In addition to the previously mentioned components of the AKTOS CIS, symptom and functioning data collected with the FFT and CBT systems will be analyzed as secondary data.