EFFECTIVENESS BANK BULLETIN 5 July 2012: Suite of publications make case for continued addiction
treatment funding in England

A new bulletin has collated the latest additions to the Effectiveness Bank. All analyse research
published by the English National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse, work which forms part of
the drive to convince local authorities to invest in drug addiction treatment after the protective
ring fence around national funding is removed in 2013, allowing the money to be used for other
public health purposes.

Backed by data from the national treatment monitoring system linked to criminal justice records, the
cumulative argument is that during the tenure of the agency treatment has expanded and improved, and
is now delivering the recovery outcomes desired by the national strategy as well as substantial cost
savings arising from reduced crime. Disinvest and the result will be to lose some of these benefits
and a net increase in social costs. Are the links in the argument securely forged enough, and even
if they are, will competing demands and new priorities mean a retreat from addiction funding? If
treatment survives and flourishes, these reports will take at least some of the credit.

To view the whole bulletin click this link:
http://findings.org.uk/docs/bulletins/Bull_05_07_12.php
or click the links below to view an entry in the bulletin. If clicking does not work, paste the link
in to your web browser address box, being sure to enter the whole address.

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*new* SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION REALLY DOES INDICATE SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT
Support for the assumption that relapse is less likely if patients leave treatment after having
successfully completed the programme rather than dropping out, an important link in the argument
that treatment effectiveness has improved - but the difference is small, and perhaps staying in
treatment for at least a few years is even better?
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=NTA_18.cab

MORE DRUG ADDICTS OVERCOMING DEPENDENCE AND LEAVING TREATMENT
Argues that more drug dependent patients successfully completing and leaving treatment and not
having to return after relapse means that efforts to put recovery at the heart of treatment are
paying off.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=NTA_20.txt

CRIME CUT AMONG OFFENDERS ENTERING ADDICTION TREATMENT
Concrete evidence of social benefit from treatment derived from linking treatment to police data.
This showed that known offenders are substantially less likely to be reconvicted after (re)starting
addiction treatment, especially when they stay in treatment or complete it after overcoming their
dependence.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=NTA_24.txt

CRIME DIVIDEND MAKES CUTTING ADDICTION TREATMENT A FALSE ECONOMY
The preceding dots joined up and new ones added to arrive at the conclusion that the crime reduction
dividend for society arising from effective addiction treatment amounts to billions of pounds,
meaning cuts in funding would be more than wiped out by the costs of increased crime. Are the
assumptions valid, and is the argument persuasive in the new policy environment?
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=NTA_22.txt

*new* MORE UNDER-18s SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE ALCOHOL/DRUG TREATMENT
Documents trends in England towards quicker and more often successful treatment of children aged
under 18 with alcohol or drug problems, while numbers have fallen in line with developments among
the general population and among young adults in treatment.
http://findings.org.uk/count/downloads/download.php?file=NTA_23.cab

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Effectiveness Bank alerts are provided by Drug and Alcohol Findings (http://findings.org.uk) to
alert you to site updates and recent UK-relevant evaluation studies and reviews of drug/alcohol
interventions. Findings is managed by DrugScope, Alcohol Concern and the National Addiction Centre.
The Effectiveness Bank is supported by Alcohol Research UK and the J Paul Getty Jr Charitable Trust.
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