New Perspectives in Estimating the Costs of Substance Abuse Treatment Using the Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program (Datcap) : The Client Datcap and Caretaker Datcap

Economic evaluation of substance abuse treatment plays a key role in current public health research agendas. Several studies have examined the cost effectiveness or costs and benefits of treatment in various settings, but less is known about the costs incurred specifically by program clients or their families. To better explore some of the potential financial or other barriers to participating in treatment, the current study introduces 2 new cost evaluation programs and presents results from recent U.S.-based studies that have collected cost data with these instruments. The Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program (DATCAP) is a well-known and published instrument for collecting program costs. The success of the DATCAP provided a foundation for expanding into other areas of cost data collection. The Client DATCAP was developed in 2003 to evaluate the opportunity cost of time spent in treatment, monetary or other contributions made by the client to the program, travel costs, and miscellaneous expenditures. The Caretaker DATCAP was developed in 2005 to capture the costs incurred by a parent/guardian of an adolescent participating in treatment. Cost categories include: cash or in-kind payments to a program, travel costs, caretaker health and personal time costs, caretaker employment costs, and costs incurred by other family or household members. These new instruments allow for a more comprehensive assessment of the economic cost of substance abuse treatment. Results from this study are useful for treatment providers and policy makers alike. Treatment providers can use this information to establish and/or modify treatment options and access to treatment; policy makers can execute more informed resource allocation decisions with a better understanding of the societal cost of treatment