New Research on Vocational Rehabilitation for Substance Users
Recent “welfare reform” legislation has limited the duration of public assistance benefits, making it essential for able-bodied addiction treatment patients to obtain employment. Also, past research has indicated that employment improves patient retention and outcomes in addiction treatment. Responding to these issues, a new volume of studies entitled Contemporary Vocational Rehabilitation for Substance Users, guest-edited by NDRI researchers Stephen Magura and Graham L. Staines, has been published as a special issue of Substance Use & Misuse (vol. 39, numbers 13 & 14, 2004). This contains 15 original research articles detailing the state-of-the-art in vocational rehabilitation services for substance users, as well as 10 Op-Eds on the policy implications of the research findings. Several promising vocational models, including Stepped Care with Behavioral Reinforcement, Comprehensive Employment Supports, and a series of programs for parolees, are described and evaluated. A framework for cost-effectiveness analysis is also presented. NDRI staff contributed the Introduction, four articles and two Op-Eds to the volume.
This research was partially supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, grant no. R01 DA013596.
December, 2004