Abstinence-Contingent Wage Supplements for Drug Use was designed to promote drug abstinence and vocational entry among unemployed adults in treatment for opioid use disorder by providing financial incentives dependent on verified abstinence. During the 12-month program period, unemployed participants could earn up to 20 hours per week of wages for engaging in job-seeking activities with an employment specialist, at $10 per hour. Employed participants could receive wage supplements for verified hours worked, capped at $8 per hour for up to 40 hours per week. These payments were contingent upon maintaining drug abstinence, which was verified routine and random drug testing schedule.
Positive results on the drug test resulted in a temporary reset of the base supplement rate to $1 per hour and restarting of routine mandatory testing. The rate increased by $1 per day for each day the participant provided a drug negative result and worked for at least five minutes until the maximum amount of $8 per hour was achieved.
The program was evaluated in Baltimore, MD.
Abstinence-Contingent Wage Supplements for Drug Use was designed to promote drug abstinence and vocational entry among unemployed adults in treatment for opioid use disorder by providing financial incentives dependent on verified abstinence.