Staffing patterns of American methadone maintenance programs.

Methadone maintenance is the most frequently utilized treatment for heroin addiction and also represents one of the best AIDS-prevention tools for the IV drug using population. Despite these important roles, very little has been reported about how methadone maintenance clinics are staffed. Surveys covering various aspects of program operations, including staffing, were sent to all clinics (N = 557) listed in the 1984 National Directory of Drug Abuse and Alcohol Treatment Programs. Using ANOVA, staffing patterns were compared across programs as a function of clinic size, city size, region of the country, and funding resources. While few differences were found based on city or clinic size, staffing patterns varied as a function of regional location as well as the sources of a clinic's funding.