The overall objective of the project is to develop an EAP Managed Care and Evaluation System (EAP/MCES) which consists of a procedures manual, forms, and IBM PC compatible software which can be readily adapted to the majority of EAP programs. The system will be user friendly and the procedures manual will include a tutorial. The system will include four functions: case management, managed care, reporting, and evaluation and will incorporate input, process, outcome, impact, and cost data to assess and evaluate managed care and cost-effectiveness/cost-benefit of EAP operations. While a major impetus for this effort is to provide useful (and marketable) management and evaluation tools for better determining or documenting effective strategies for dealing with employee drug use, the approach would also be applicable to employee alcohol use, stress-related mental illness, and other problems of troubled employees typically encountered by EAP practitioners. The specific objectives of Phase I are to: conduct a state of practices review; develop a preliminary EAP/MCES model and a preliminary Phase II development and field test plan; develop a set of draft instruments and procedures for conducting a needs assessment survey of EAP professionals and other potential EAP/MCES users; pilot test and revise the needs assessment instrument and procedures; conduct the needs assessment nationally; analyze the results of the needs assessment and revise the preliminary EAP/MCES model and the Phase II development and field test plan; identify candidate organizations to participate in the Phase II field test and obtain commitments; and complete a summary report documenting the efforts and results of Phase I.
