Dissemination of a Job Seekers' Workshop to drug treatment programs

Abstract

To compare the effectiveness of techniques for disseminating an innovative job skills training program, 172 drug treatment programs in six USA states were randomly assigned to receive either printed materials only, printed materials plus on-site technical assistance, printed materials plus traininjg at a conference, or no intervention. The treatment disseminated was the Job Seekers' Workshop, a skill training program designed to help drug treatment clients obtain employment. Adoption of the workshop was assessed at three-month follow-up. At three months, adoption rates were: site visit, 28%; conference, 19%; printed material, 4%; and control, 0%. Dissemination methods that employed personal contact (site visits and conferences) produced significantly more adoption than did printed materials alone. Residential treatment programs were more likely to adopt the workshop than were outpatient drug-free or methadone maintenance programs.