Los Angeles County Evaluation System (LACES): Bringing Accountability to Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment through a Collaboration between Providers, Payers, and Researchers

• Author: Desirée Crèvecoeur,Richard A. Rawson,Beth Finnerty
• Date: 01 July 2002
• Published date: 01 July 2002
• DOI: 10.1177/002204260203200309
• Subject Matter: Article

© 2002 BY THE JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES

JOURNAL OF DRUG ISSUES 0022-0426/02/03 865-880

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Desirée A. Crèvecoeur, M.A., is completing her doctorate in social psychology at Claremont Graduate

University. Her research interests include program evaluation, the perpetration of hate crimes and

other forms of violence, and substance abuse treatment. She is project director for the LACES program

at the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at UCLA. Beth Finnerty, M.P.H., received her Master of

Public Health from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Public Health. Her

research interests include drug abuse epidemiology, HIV/AIDS epidemiology, and drug abuse treatment.

She is the epidemiologist for the LACES program at the Integrated Substance Abuse Programs at

UCLA. Richard Rawson, Ph.D., is Associate Director of the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse

Programs and has conducted substance abuse research and treatment since 1974. Dr. Rawson is

Principal Investigator of LACES and several major research-practice projects: CSAT-funded Los Angeles

Practice Improvement Collaborative and Pacific Southwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center, and

the NIDA-funded Methamphetamine Clinical Trial Group.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY EVALUATION SYSTEM

(LACES): BRINGING ACCOUNTABILITY TO ALCOHOL

AND DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT THROUGH A

COLLABORATION BETWEEN PROVIDERS, PAYERS, AND

RESEARCHERS

DESIRÉE CRÈVECOEUR, BETH FINNERTY, RICHARD A. RAWSON

The design and early implementation stages of a large-scale, system-wide

evaluation of Los Angeles County’s substance abuse treatment system (Los Angeles

County Evaluation System: An Outcomes Reporting Program, or LACES) will be

examined. In the first stage of implementation, individuals entering treatment will

provide a standardized data set using the Los Angeles County Participant Reporting

System (LACPRS) admission forms and the Addiction Severity Index (ASI). At

treatment program discharge, the LACPRS discharge form will be administered,

and at one-year post admission the ASI will be re-administered to a stratified sample

of 1,500 individuals from 31 “sentinel programs.” Additional information will be

gathered on the services provided by Los Angeles County alcohol and other drug

treatment/recovery programs. Data from LACES will provide the treatment providers

feedback on the impact of treatment services and will create the foundation of an

ongoing evaluation system for the County’s substance abuse treatment clients

and services.