This report details the processes and outcomes of working with six Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services in NSW to develop a standardised assessment tool, define their core treatment and organisational components, and develop an evaluation framework that could be used to evaluate individual treatment components, such as follow-up care, and estimate the total net benefits and costs of their services.

The process of engaging with these Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services was guided by the principles of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), and utilised both qualitative and quantitative methods. The relationship between these six services, which comprise the NSW Aboriginal Residential Healing Drug & Alcohol Network (NARHDAN), and the team of researchers led by Professor Anthony Shakeshaft (National Drug and Alcohol Centre (NDARC) UNSW Sydney), developed through a desire by the NARHDAN group to more systematically examine their data and services, with the goal of building an evidence base to ensure optimal outcomes for their clients.

There were three key processes for developing the report. First, client data were extracted from the electronic patient information systems of participating Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services and examined to identify the key domains of data collected. Second, an interactive workshop was undertaken with the managers of Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services to better understand the context in which their services collect data, and to identify the core treatment and organisational components of their services. Third, the analysis of client data and information provided by managers informed the development of a standardised assessment tool, program logic models defining standard treatment and organisational components, and the development of two evaluation frameworks, one to evaluate Aboriginal drug and alcohol residential rehabilitation, and the other to evaluate follow-up support.

The four primary aims of this report are to:

1. Describe the data collected by the Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services in NSW to identify gaps in client assessment data and develop a standardised assessment tool and data collection process that could be adopted by all services. This standardised assessment tool and data collection process would provide the capacity to embed evaluation into the routine delivery of Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services.

2. Define the core treatment and organisational components of Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services and develop standardised program logic models to operationalise their delivery.

3. Design an evidence-based follow-up model of care that could initially be implemented and evaluated in one Aboriginal residential rehabilitation service, with a view to stepped uptake of these treatment components across all services.

4. Articulate an evaluation framework, incorporating the standardised assessment tool and the standardised program logic models, to facilitate the estimation of the total net benefits and costs of Aboriginal residential rehabilitation services in NSW, and evaluate the impact of future changes to treatment components, such as the addition of formal, structured follow-up after discharge from residential rehabilitation, or the addition of a systemic aftercare model of treatment.