The State perspective

Our survey showed that State agencies make use of NIDA materials of all sorts, including NIDA treatment evaluation materials. A majority of the respondents indicated that NIDA treatment evaluation materials were among the most useful of its products; most frequently mentioned was DARP, then Nurco's and Robins' work, and TOPS. That DARP was most frequently mentioned is not a contradiction, since the responses were stated in a general sense, not in terms of a specific report or material. In the past 1 to 2 years, many State drug abuse agency budgets have been substantially reduced due to declines in Federal funding. As a result, treatment evaluation reports and related materials are viewed somewhat differently than they were in the past. The fiscal climate in various States may thus be another factor contributing to the greater familarity and reported use of reports such as DAWN, CODAP, and case management and monitoring manuals published by NIDA. A number of suggestions were made about the kinds of evaluation materials needed by States. It was generally agreed that attempts should be made to produce treatment evaluation findings/new knowledge in a format where it would be more accessible to administrators (e.g., "how-to" manuals, evaluation case studies, dissemination of treatment evaluation bibliographies) and should assist in making existing treatment evaluation results more accessible (divide results for modalities into subtypes, provide data on the effectiveness of specific interventions with specific conditions, diversify the settings of programs in which evaluations are done, etc.). The theme of these various suggestions is to make evaluations more available, usable, and specific, especially now in view of the reduced ability of many States to carry on their own evaluation activities. The general sense of the respondents regarding dissemination was that right now, in view of other problems such as the financial crunch, NIDA's system of distribution cannot be a salient concern. Nevertheless, from a State perspective, NIDA's dissemination of treatment evaluation materials is particularly important in the light of the paucity of resources States have to conduct their own research. Thus, having access to NIDA's usable evaluation data is all the more crucial to improving service delivery and its cost effectiveness. Another factor to bear in mind at the present time is the absence of opportunities to share evaluation results at national conferences which formerly were, of course, major mechanisms for formal dissemination.