Chapter 4 presents data on the reason for discharge and median length of stay (LOS) in treatment for the 178,808 discharges aged 12 and older from short-term residential treatment in 2009. Forty-three of the 45 reporting States and jurisdictions had discharges from this type of service [Table 4.1].

Reason for Discharge

Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1. Of the 178,808 discharges aged 12 and older from short-term residential treatment in 2009¹:

• 52 percent (n = 92,418) completed treatment
• 18 percent (n = 32,909) were transferred to further treatment
• 17 percent (n = 31,210) dropped out of treatment
• 6 percent (n = 11,526) had treatment terminated by the facility
• 6 percent (n = 10,745) failed to complete treatment for other reasons
  

¹ Percentages do not sum to 100 percent because of rounding.

Median Length of Stay (LOS)

Table 1.4 and Figure 4.2. The median LOS in 2009 for short-term residential treatment discharges aged 12 and older was 22 days. By reason for discharge, the median LOS for short-term residential treatment discharges was:

• 27 days among those who completed treatment
• 23 days among those who transferred to further treatment
• 8 days among those who dropped out of treatment
• 13 days among those whose treatment was terminated by the facility
• 23 days among those who failed to complete treatment for other reasons
  
  

Characteristics at Admission

Table 1.6. Short-term residential discharges aged 12 and older displayed some major differences from all discharges aged 12 and older combined. Of short-term residential discharges aged 12 and older:

• 14 percent reported cocaine as the primary substance of abuse compared to 10 percent of all discharges
• 52 percent reported daily use of the primary substance in the month before treatment entry compared to 38 percent of all discharges; 13 percent reported no substance use in the month before treatment entry compared to 29 percent of all discharges
• 66 percent reported one or more prior treatment episodes compared to 58 percent of all admissions
• 46 percent were referred to treatment by health care or community sources compared to 29 percent of all discharges; 23 percent were referred through the criminal justice system compared to 38 percent of all discharges
• 86 percent were unemployed or not in the labor force compared to 76 percent of all discharges
  

Treatment Completion

Tables 4.2 and 4.3. Table 4.2 enumerates the characteristics at admission of discharges aged 12 and over from short-term residential treatment by reason for discharge. Table 4.3 is based on Table 4.2. It presents two related proportions: a) the percent distribution of characteristics at admission among discharges completing treatment or transferring to further treatment compared to those who did not complete treatment, and b) the combined rate of completion or transfer to further treatment by characteristic at admission. Table 4.3 also provides the median LOS among short-term residential treatment discharges aged 12 and over that completed treatment.

Completion/Transfer Rates and Characteristics at Admission

The overall combined treatment completion/transfer rate among short-term residential treatment discharges aged 12 and over was 70 percent.

• Among variables whose categories represented a continuum—age, frequency of use, number of prior treatment episodes, and level of education—higher completion/transfer rates among short-term residential treatment discharges were associated with:
  • Older age—the completion/transfer rate fell from 77 percent among discharges older than 50 years to 66 percent among discharges aged 12 to 20 years
  • Less frequent use—the completion/transfer rate fell from 74 percent among discharges who reported no substance use in the month before treatment entry to 68 percent among those who reported daily substance use
  • Number of prior treatment episodes—the completion/transfer rate increased from 67 percent of discharges with no prior treatment to 72 percent of those with one or more treatment episodes
  • Higher educational level—75 percent of discharges with more than 12 years of education completed treatment or transferred to further treatment; the rate fell to 67 percent among discharges with fewer than 12 years of education
• Among other characteristics (race/ethnicity, primary substance, treatment referral source, employment status), the completion/transfer rate among short-term residential treatment discharges aged 12 and over ranged from:
  • 67 percent among Hispanic discharges to 72 percent among discharges of race/ethnicities other than Hispanic, White, or Black
  • 64 percent among discharges who reported opiates as the primary substance to 76 percent among those who reported alcohol as the primary substance
  • 66 percent of discharges who were self- or individually referred to treatment to 76 percent of discharges who were referred to treatment through the criminal justice system
  • 69 percent among discharges who were unemployed or not in the labor force to 79 percent among discharges who were employed
    

Median LOS among Discharges Completing Treatment

The overall median LOS in 2009 among discharges aged 12 and older completing short-term residential treatment was 27 days. For all characteristics at admission, the median LOS was between 24 days and 28 days.

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