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 $8,035 versus $1,467 for Standard residential treatment. Average net benefits (benefit-cost ratios) were estimated to be $17,144 (3.1) for Specialty and $8,090 (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.