OUTREACH ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS - ARE THEY WORTH THE EFFORT

The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of an outreac h strategy designed to engage substance-abusing individuals who did no t keep their initial treatment appointment. After missing their first scheduled appointment, telephone contact was attempted for 267 consecu tive prospective patients as part of an attempt to engage them in trea tment. Results indicated that this telephone contact was useful at pro mpting these individuals to both reschedule and arrive for intake. Our concern that persons who failed to keep initial appointments might be less motivated for treatment was not supported, as results indicated that treatment retention for these subjects was similar to that of a s ample of individuals who arrived for intake as scheduled. These result s support the value of outreach efforts as a means of engaging substan ce-abusing individuals who otherwise might not have experienced treatm ent.