Treatment outcomes in a day treatment program.

A sample of 63 psychiatric patients consecutively admitted to an adult day treatment program was evaluated with the Colorado Client Assessment Record (CCAR) within 2 weeks of their admission, at regular 90-day intervals, and/or upon discharge from the program. Trained raters using the CCAR made functional assessment ratings of patients on nine behaviorally-anchored scales. A unique feature of this study was that patients' primary therapists were asked to identify the three CCAR dimensions which represented their targeted treatment goals. Purposes of this study were twofold. The first concern was to establish the validity of this instrument in monitoring the level of functioning of a young and chronically impaired sample. The second goal was to assess the clinical outcome of patients in the day treatment program. Results showed the CCAR to be a valid measure of patients' level of functioning. Further results indicated that the functional ratings on the three targeted treatment goals exhibited statistically significant improvement from admission to follow-up or discharge. Findings further suggest that patients' motivation for treatment at the time of admission may be important for achieving successful clinical outcome. This investigation, by establishing the validity and utility of the CCAR for a chronically impaired psychiatric population, lays the foundation for continued monitoring of clinical outcome and program evaluation.