IMPLEMENTATION OF RESIDENTIAL AND NONRESIDENTIAL TREATMENT FOR THE DUALLY DIAGNOSED HOMELESS

An implementation analysis conducted as part of a 2-year experimental study of residential and nonresidential treatment programs for the dua lly diagnosed homeless found significant differences in client engagem ent and retention, as well as unexpected variations in the treatment c onditions. Fully 40% of subjects assigned to either treatment failed t o become engaged for even one day, although a significantly higher per centage of those assigned to the residential program than the nonresid ential program graduated from the first 3-month phase of treatment. Th e analysis revealed significant differences in the type and amount of services provided by the two treatment programs, as well as potentiall y important difficulties in program management. Such process data are valuable tools for understanding client outcomes and interpreting expe rimental results.