VOUCHER-BASED REINFORCEMENT OF ATTENDANCE BY UNEMPLOYED METHADONE PATIENTS IN A JOB SKILLS TRAINING-PROGRAM

This study evaluated the use of voucher reinforcement for maintaining attendance of unemployed methadone patients in a job skills training p rogram. Participants received vouchers for attending daily 2-h compute r data entry training sessions. The vouchers had monetary values and w ere exchangeable for goods and services. During the first 6-week condi tion, daily vouchers were initially worth $8, increased by $0.90 for e very consecutive day of attendance to a maximum of $34.10, and reset t o $8 following any day of missed attendance. During the second 6-week condition: voucher values decreased each day by 20% of that individual s' earnings on the previous day. During a final 4-week condition, the highest pay level previously achieved by each individual was reinstate d and stayed at that level for the remainder of the condition, except that voucher values reset back to $8 following any missed session. Fiv e of 7 participants completed the study. For those 5 participants, 94% , and 98% attendance rates were sustained during first and second high pay conditions, respectively. Four of 5 subjects stopped attending wh en pay fell to $6-$9 (median = $7) per session in the descending pay a mount condition (the fifth subject continued to attend throughout). Me an percent of work days attended was significantly higher during the t wo high pay conditions than during the decreasing pay condition (P < 0 .001). All participants acquired data entry skills. Participants relia bly rated the work experience as 'interesting', 'enjoyable', 'challeng ing', and 'helpful'. Mean ratings for these adjectives obtained on all days attended were significantly higher than ratings of the experienc e as 'frustrating', 'boring', or a 'waste of time' (P < 0.001). These data show that voucher-based reinforcement can promote sustained atten dance of chronically unemployed substance abusers in intensive employm ent training programs and support the continued evaluation of these in centive procedures under a wider range of worksite training conditions .