Assessing the capacity of addiction and mental health treatment services to address co-occurring substance use and psychiatric disorders: DDCAT Index In research funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Substance Abuse Policy Research Program and by SAMHSA Co-Occurring State Incentive Grants, a measure designed to assess addiction treatment services capacity for co-occurring disorders has been developed. This measure, the Dual Diagnosis Capability in Addiction Treatment (DDCAT) Index, is being used to assess public and private sector addiction treatment services at agency, regional and state system levels. The DDCAT method is based on observational, interview and material review data gathered during a site visit. These data are then used to complete ratings on 35 benchmarks regarding policy, clinical practice and workforce domains. There are seven dimensional or scale scores derived on the measure: Program Structure; Program Milieu; Clinical Practice: Assessment; Clinical Practice: Treatment; Continuity of Care; Staffing; and, Training. Programs receive scores and a graphic profile on these dimensions, and based upon overall performance are categorized as: Addiction Only Services (AOS), Dual Diagnosis Capable (DDC) or Dual Diagnosis Enhanced (DDE). The index was developed and tested in community addiction treatment programs and systems. Psychometric studies have also been conducted. Presently, applications of the DDCAT are in progress in at least 20 state systems and internationally, and the index is also being used to assess private treatment programs and systems. Current research is focused on: 1) refining the instrument for content, scoring and interpretation; 2) linking DDCAT scores with patient and program level outcomes; and 3) adapting the index for mental health (DDCMH) and general healthcare (DDCHS) settings. |
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Hazelden Co-occurring Disorders Program |
