Recovery Support and Capacity Assessment Using the Calculating an Adequate System Tool: Two Case Studies

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Substance Use Disorder Treatment

Background:

• Existing data sources effectively track substance use disorder (SUD) incidence and prevalence.
• A critical gap exists in metrics for local treatment needs and capacity for SUD care.
• The Calculating an Adequate System Tool (CAST) was developed in 2016 to address this gap by assessing local SUD care system capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the application of the CAST tool in two Ohio counties and one Montana county.
• To analyze the findings and user experiences from applying CAST in these specific geographic areas.

Main Methods:

• The CAST tool was applied to assess the capacity of the SUD care system.
• Risk assessment of local social and community determinants of substance abuse was conducted.
• Local service needs across the continuum of SUD care were evaluated.

Main Results:

• Application of CAST revealed unique findings in each area.
• In Ohio, both counties lacked recovery support services; crime rates and alcohol outlet density correlated with hospitalization rates.
• Montana showed an oversaturation of prevention coalitions but gaps in detoxification, partial treatment, recovery residences, and peer support.

Conclusions:

• CAST is a valuable tool for informing decisions about local substance use care needs and capacities.
• Findings require careful interpretation considering data availability.
• CAST is continuously being improved for broader application in assessing substance use care systems.