Clinical Assessment and Substance Abuse Treatment: The Target Cities Experience

During the 1990s, in response to the multi-faceted phenomenon of substance abuse, the federal government’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment funded the Target Cities project in nineteen U.S. cities. This volume evaluates how the Target Cities project affected both treatment systems and individuals with drug and alcohol problems. In each city, programs were established to evaluate the impact of these substances on an individual’s mental and physical health, housing, family relationships, and involvement with the criminal justice system. A brief summary of the evolution of national perceptions of drug and alcohol problems is followed by a description of the project, its participants, the process of entering treatment, an organizational analysis of the project’s many components, participant satisfaction and adjustment, and the implications of the research findings for policy makers and treatment personnel.