Short versus longer term effectiveness of an outreach program for the homeless mentally ill

Presents 12-month follow-up results from an outreach/linkage intervention with persons who are homeless and mentally ill, contrasting these with results obtained at 4 months. Both sets reflect the success of the program in placing individuals in independent housing. However, longer term data provide useful information regarding client movement patterns and increased tenure in nonhomeless living arrangements beyond the termination of specialized services. Analyses of 12-month residential outcomes identified four variables as significant predictors: recruitment source, project service duration, CMH service duration, and client age. In contrast to 4-month predictors, variables reflecting baseline client functioning were no longer significantly related to outcome, suggesting that the positive effects of the intervention may take longer to achieve with some clients. Discussion focuses on the implications of these effectiveness results for future research designs and measures as well as the utility and limitations of preexperimental approaches for evaluating innovative service models when implementation and efficacy experiences are lacking.