Benefit-cost analysis of addiction treatment in Arkansas: specialty and standard residential programs for pregnant and parenting women.

A benefit-cost analysis of specialty residential treatment (Specialty) and standard residential treatment (Standard) was conducted on a sample of pregnant and parenting substance abusers from Arkansas. Economic benefits were derived from client self-reported information at treatment entry and at 6-month postdischarge with the use of an augmented version of the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). The average cost of treatment in Specialty programs was US dollars 8035 versus US dollars 1467 for Standard residential treatment. Average net benefits (benefit-cost ratios) were estimated to be US dollars 17144 (3.1) for Specialty and US dollars 8090 (6.5) for Standard. The main policy implication of this research is that investment in Specialty residential treatment for pregnant and parenting substance-abusing women appears to be economically justified, but future evaluations should analyze larger and more comparable samples to improve power and precision in the benefit-cost statistics.