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Multisystemic therapy treatment of substance abusing or dependent adolescent offenders: Costs of reducing incarceration, inpatient, and residential placement

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Abstract

The development of more effective and less costly family- and community-based services to serve as alternatives to out-of-home placements of children is an important priority in the reform of mental health services for children and adolescents. Within the context of a randomized trial with 118 substance abusing or dependent juvenile offenders, we examined the incremental costs of multisystemic therapy (MST) and related these costs to observed reductions in days of incarceration, hospitalization, and residential treatment at approximately 1 year postreferral. Results showed that the incremental costs of MST were nearly offset by the savings incurred as a result of reductions in days of out-of-home placement during the year. The need to validate effective treatments for youth with serious clinical problems and to link the costs of treatment

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Administration and Policy, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

    David M. Ward Ph.D. (Assistant Professor)

  2. Family Services Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 171 Ashley Avenue, 29425, Charleston, SC

    Sonja K. Schoenwald Ph.D. (Assistant Professor), Scott W. Henggeler Ph.D. (Professor), Susan G. Pickrel M.P.H., M.D. (Assistant Professor) & Heeren Patel M.H.A. (Health Administration Intern)

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  1. Sonja K. Schoenwald Ph.D.
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  2. David M. Ward Ph.D.
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  3. Scott W. Henggeler Ph.D.
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  4. Susan G. Pickrel M.P.H., M.D.
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  5. Heeren Patel M.H.A.
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Schoenwald, S.K., Ward, D.M., Henggeler, S.W. et al. Multisystemic therapy treatment of substance abusing or dependent adolescent offenders: Costs of reducing incarceration, inpatient, and residential placement. J Child Fam Stud 5, 431–444 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02233864

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