January 2026 — A recent substance use treatment program evaluation conducted by EVALCORP in partnership with Pinellas County Human Services and Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services reveals that a structured client engagement protocol improved treatment connection rates for individuals who have overdosed or are at risk of opioid overdose.
The evaluation assessed an opioid treatment initiative funded through Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) First Responders-Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Grants (FR-CARA) program in Pinellas County, Florida.
The Opportunity
Quick Response Teams (QRTs) play a critical role in connecting overdose survivors to life-saving substance use treatment. This provides an important opportunity for counties to enhance treatment connection rates with targeted engagement approaches.
The Intervention
EVALCORP partnered with Pinellas County Human Services and Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services to develop and evaluate an evidence-informed intervention designed to enhance client substance use treatment engagement. The intervention was built on two key insights from literature review and data analysis:
- Evidence-based practice: Research consistently shows that relationship-building and consistent communication are critical to successful treatment connection
- Data-driven insight: Analysis of existing program data revealed that clients engaged by the QRT at least seven times were 50% more likely to connect to treatment than those engaged fewer times
The Enhancing Client Treatment Engagement Intervention included a structured protocol to guide QRT peer specialists and case managers through outreach and engagement strategies while testing different contact frequencies from June to September 2025.
Key Findings
Treatment Connection Rate Increased by 10%
The most significant finding: substance use treatment connection rates nearly doubled from 12% before the intervention to 22% after implementation (p=0.002). This improvement suggests that having a structured engagement protocol, combined with sustained outreach efforts, may be key drivers of improved outcomes.
Persistence Pays Off
The evaluation confirmed that every additional contact attempt increased the likelihood of treatment connection by approximately 13%. Looking beyond the number of contacts, the data showed similar patterns for engagement (meaningful conversations or interactions) where the likelihood of a treatment connection increased as the number of engagements rose:
- After 1 engagement: 3.5% chance of treatment connection
- After 5 engagements: 11.3% chance of treatment connection
- After 10 engagements: 29.5% chance of treatment connection
This finding reinforces that persistent, assertive follow-up is an effective strategy for connecting clients to treatment.
Balance Structure with Flexibility
While the structured protocol improved outcomes, implementation insights revealed an important lesson: protocols must balance structure with professional autonomy. QRT staff and leadership emphasized that effective engagement requires flexibility to respond to individual client circumstances, readiness levels, and external barriers.
Leadership valued the intervention’s improved organization and tracking capabilities, while staff highlighted the importance of tailoring approaches to each client’s unique situation. Both groups agreed that individualized contact guidelines work better than fixed requirements.
What’s Next?
Based on these findings, EVALCORP recommends that opioid overdose response programs consider:
1. Adopting hybrid protocol models that maintain structured tracking while granting staff flexibility to adjust based on client needs
2. Piloting extended engagement models with periodic follow-up over 6-12 months to support sustained connection and recovery
3. Establishing participatory evaluation approaches that involve frontline staff, leadership, and clients as co-designers from the onset
4. Conducting system-level barrier analyses to address obstacles beyond program control, such as treatment capacity constraints and insurance eligibility requirements
The Bottom Line
This program evaluation demonstrates that structured engagement interventions represent an important evidence-based approach to connecting individuals to life-saving substance use treatment. By combining structure with flexibility and engaging stakeholders as true partners in evaluation design, opioid overdose response programs can develop approaches that reduce opioid-related deaths and support individuals on their recovery journeys.
The intervention’s success in Pinellas County offers a replicable model for communities across the nation working to combat the ongoing opioid crisis.
About the Evaluation
EVALCORP conducted this evaluation in partnership with Pinellas County Human Services and Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services’ Quick Response Team. The evaluation utilized both quantitative analysis of administrative data and qualitative focus groups with program staff and leadership to provide comprehensive insights into intervention effectiveness and implementation.
This product was supported [in part] by grant number 1H79TI084551 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or polices of SAMHSA or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
For more information about EVALCORP’s evaluation services or to discuss how we can support your program, contact us.