Predictors of change in the provision of services within outpatient substance abuse treatment programs

The current study examines patterns and predictors of change over a 2-year period in whether outpatient core and wraparound services are offered on-site or by referral. A sample of 69 outpatient nonmethadone programs from 4 US regions provided organizational information across a 2-year period. Services provided within outpatient substance abuse programs were relatively stable over time, particularly with regard to core therapeutic services. The use of referral networks to provide a broader array of wraparound services increased, with programs adding services that reflect recent national initiatives toward program improvement, namely pharmacotherapy, medical diagnosis and treatment, and psychiatric services. Organizational factors such as parent affiliation, counselor caseload, staff size, budget change, and proportion of dually diagnosed clients were related to change in core and wraparound services. Dynamic organizational factors such as staff size and budgets can serve as barriers to and/or facilitate change in service provision over time and have managerial and policy implications.