The Kentucky Substance Abuse Treatment Outcome Study (KTOS) is mandated by state law and applies to all state funded substance abuse treatment programs. KTOS includes information collected from clients when they enter substance abuse treatment and information one year after treatment. The study compares client self-report information from the two data collection times and produces reports on changes in substance use, criminal justice involvement, supports for recovery, living situation, and employment one year after treatment.

How to Use This Site

You may stay on this page to learn more about the KTOS study. However, you may wish to go to specific sites for KTOS materials or data.

 Who participates in KTOS?

Publicly funded substance abuse treatment facilities are required by state law to participate in the study of treatment outcomes. Programs that are funded by either the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant or the Kentucky general funds must participate. The 14 community mental health centers provide the majority of state funded treatment and they and their affiliated agencies participate in the study.

What is involved in participation?

Substance abuse treatment providers and clinicians collect client data during the intake process. They record clients’ self-reported information using PDAs. The data are considered baseline since they represent clients’ status as they begin treatment. KTOS is a completely electronic data collection system, with no paper copies being used for interviews or record keeping.

The follow-up interviews

On completion of the intake interviews, clients are invited to participate in follow-up interviews 12 months after treatment. They are provided with informed consent about participating, which means they truly volunteer to be a part of the study. If they consent to the study, they may be contacted 12 months later for a telephone interview. They are asked the same questions at follow-up as at intake so that change from intake to one year later can be measured.

How confidential is KTOS?

KTOS has received a Certificate of Confidentiality from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that protects confidentiality for research participants and clients. It means that the KTOS data can even be kept confidential and are not subject to court order. Reports do not include any client identifying data and all electronic data are kept in password protected computer files.

 How are data used?

Reports do not use any client identifiers. The major annual report is the Follow-up Findings Report that summarizes findings about change after treatment for the sample of clients who were selected for follow-up interviews. However, other special reports are also produced to highlight key findings about the outcomes of treatment. All KTOS reports are available through this web site. The findings are used by public policy makers to help support the need for treatment services. In addition, the findings are reported to the Federal government to meet Block Grant requirements.

How can I use the data tables on this web site?

If you click on the “KTOS Data Tables” above, you get access to a number of tables containing the intake or baseline information on clients in substance abuse treatment. You can select different ways to sort the data using the crosstab selection. This way, you can look at differences in drug or alcohol use between males and females or you can sort the data by region or by county. This gives you the flexibility to analyze the KTOS data to answer questions you might have about substance use and related behaviors.

 How do I learn more about the study?

If you click on the “KTOS Reports” section above, you will find a more detailed account of how the study is conducted and the central findings of the KTOS study.