Impact of a training and certification program on the quality of interviewer-collected self-report assessment data

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an assessment training and certification program on the quality of data collected from clients entering substance abuse treatment. Data were obtained from 15,858 adult and adolescent clients entering 122 treatment sites across the United States using the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs–Initial (GAIN-I). GAIN Administration and Fidelity Index (GAFI) scores were predicted from interviewer certification status, interviewer experience, and their interactions. We controlled for client characteristics expected to lengthen or otherwise complicate interviews. Initial bivariate analyses revealed effects for certification status and experience. A significant interaction between certification and experience indicates interviewers attaining certification and having more experience far outperformed certified interviewers with low experience. Although some client characteristics negatively impacted fidelity, interviewer certification and experience remained salient predictors of fidelity in the multivariate model. The results are discussed with regard to the importance of ongoing monitoring of interviewer skill.