Do clients appreciate free drug rehab and try and focus as much compared to if the have to pay for the treatment? Payment can be work or money. If they have little invested except their own recovery, do they leave free drug rehab sooner and at a higher rate, than a drug rehab that they or their family has paid for? The common perception is that things that people receive for free, which can include drug rehab are not appreciated as much as things that are paid for. I do not know if anybody has truely studied this completely and fairly. You cannot just compare free drug rehab facilities with drug rehabs that you have to pay to attend. Location, program, building, staff and even types and variety of food are different. All of these things have some bearing on the retention factors and ultimately the success of a client.
You would need a facility where half of the clients paid for the rehab treatment. The other half of the clients would bre receiving free drug rehab, however who was who would be secret from the staff and other clients. Over time you could look at success rates and compare as to which was more benificial to the client, free drug rehab or paid drug rehab. You would have to do this for several facilities and several types of rehab treatment.
Maybe some of the lack of success of government drug rehab programs is the fact most people pay nothing or very little for them. Whether drug rehab is totally free or requires some payment we should find the mix that consistently gives clients the very best chance at success.
