Benefits and Costs of a Family-Focused Methadone Treatment and Drug Abuse Prevention Program: Preliminary Findings

Abstract

Benefit-cost analysis is a widely applied, but often controversial and misunderstood, tool of program evaluation. It was initially used to assess the economic soundness of infrastructure projects such as locks, dams, and highways. Analysts now routinely apply it in evaluations of environmental and occupational safety and health regulations (Cropper and Oates 1992; Viscusi 1985); health and mental health interventions (Keeler and Cretin 1987; Weisbrod 1981); and a wide variety of human resources programs, including ones for alcoholism treatment (Rundell et al. 1991; Saxe et al. 1983), education (BerruetaClement et al. 1984), family planning services (Levey et al. 1988), job training (Kemper et al. 1983; Long et al. 1981), vocational rehabilitation (Lewis et al. 1992), and welfare-to-work programs (Gueron and Pauly 1991).