Does It Work?
Ten Years of Data Say Yes. And the Results Last.
Not Marketing. Not Anecdotes. Peer-Grade Clinical Research.
OQ-45 (Outcome Questionnaire-45):
after snapshot.
FAD-GF (McMaster Family Assessment Device – General Family Functioning
Subscale):
Administered at admission, 6 months post-treatment, and 1 year post-treatment.
URICA (University of Rhode Island Change Assessment):
readiness to change — providing context for interpreting outcome data and establishing
baseline engagement at admission.
Clients Improve Across Every Measured Domain. The Gains Hold After They Leave.
clinically problematic. A score below zero is in the healthy range. A change of one unit or more is clinically and statistically meaningful. Legacy clients — a matched group of 242 who completed surveys at admission, Week 12, and 6–12 months after treatment — moved from above the line to below it in every domain. And stayed there.
1. Mental Health: Large, Significant, Sustained Improvement
The magnitude of this change is large (effect size η²=.65 — one of the strongest effect sizes documented in residential behavioral health research). Mental health improvementat Legacy is not marginal. It is the kind of change that shows up in a person’s daily life.
At Admission
Average score of 1.2 — meaningfully above the clinical threshold.
At Week 12
6–12 Months Post-Treatment
Equally important: the change doesn’t disappear after clients go home. Follow-up data at 6 to 12 months post-treatment confirms that gains hold — clients are not just better at graduation, they remain measurably healthier months later.
What the week-by-week data shows: Mental health improves dramatically in the first week of treatment — then continues improving steadily across weeks 2 through 9, before stabilizing in the healthy range in the final three weeks. This is not a honeymoon effect. It is a structured therapeutic arc.
2. Relationships: Consistent Improvement, Sustained After Treatment
Most clients who come to Legacy are experiencing relational disruption — loneliness, dysfunctional family dynamics, or fractured peer relationships. By the end of treatment, and continuing after, clients report meaningfully better relationship functioning. The improvement is consistent across gender: males and females reach the same healthy range post-treatment, with slightly different trajectories during the program.
At Admission
Average score above the clinical threshold.
At Week 12
Post-Treatment
3. Social Role Functioning: Clients Return to Life Ready to Engage
Social role distress measures whether someone can function as an adult in the world — holding a job, managing responsibilities, meeting everyday expectations. Clients entering Legacy typically can’t. Clients leaving Legacy — and 6 to 12 months after — consistently can.
At Admission
Above the clinical threshold — difficulty meeting adult expectations at work and in daily life.
Post-Treatment
The Whole Family Gets Better. Not Just the Client.
Data Snapshot
| Timepoint | Family Functioning Status |
|---|---|
| Admission | Dysfunctional range |
| 6 Months Post-Treatment | Healthy range |
| 1 Year Post-Treatment | Gains sustained |
We Don’t Just Measure Before and After. We Track Change Every Single Week.
How Change Happens: Week-by-Week OQ-45 Progress Over 90 Days
Week 1–3:
Mental health improves dramatically. This is a rapid stabilization phase — clients move quickly out of acute distress as they enter a structured, supported environment.
Week 3–9:
Improvement continues, but at a slower, more consistent pace. This is the sustained clinical work — individual therapy, group process, outdoor experiential programming, and relational repair happening together.
Week 9–12:
Scores plateau in the healthy range — not because treatment stops working, but because clients are consolidating gains and preparing to integrate what they’ve learned into life after the program.
It Works for Everyone Legacy Serves. The Data Confirms It.
Gender
clients beginning in 2018 at Juniper Canyon. The outcome data for male and female clients shows statistically equivalent improvement in mental health and social role functioning. Both groups arrive at the same healthy range post-treatment. The program
is demonstrably effective across gender.
Age
Outcome data shows that age does not predict how much a client benefits — the nearly flat regression line across the full age range confirms that an 18-year-old and a 38-year-old can expect equivalent improvement. Whether a client is in their early 20s or late 30s, Legacy’s outcomes are consistent.
Presenting Complexity
common, alongside mood disorders, ADHD, eating disorders, personality disorders, and other complex presentations. These are not low-acuity clients. The outcomes datareflects results with a clinically complex population.
Almost Half of Graduates Are Living Independently One Year Later.
Living Situation One Year Post-Treatment:
| Living Situation | % of Clients |
|---|---|
| Living independently | 47% |
| Living with parent(s) | 19% |
| Living with roommate | 11% |
| In another therapeutic program | 11% |
| Other | 11% |
| With relatives | 1% |
Clients Arrive Ready. Legacy Meets Them There.
The Outcomes Don’t Happen by Chance. Here’s the Model Behind Them.
produce outcomes measurably better than any single approach alone.
Licensed Residential Care
Adventure Therapy
Holistic and Family-Integrated Approaches
What Clinicians Need to Know Before They Refer
- Has 10+ years of continuously collected, independently analyzed outcome data
- Uses validated, peer-recognized instruments (OQ-45, FAD-GF, URICA)
- Tracks outcomes not just at discharge, but at 6 and 12 months post-treatment
- Has documented statistically significant improvement with large effect sizes across mental health, relationships, social role functioning, and family functioning
- Produces equivalent outcomes across gender and age
- Holds Joint Commission accreditation and Utah state residential behavioral health licensure
Questions About Effectiveness. Answered With Data.
Legacy uses three validated, standardized instruments: the OQ-45 (measuring mental health, relationship, and social role distress), the FAD-GF (measuring family functioning), and the URICA (measuring readiness for change). Clients complete the OQ-45 every week during treatment — producing a 12-week, week-by-week map of progress. Outcomes are tracked at admission, at Week 12, and at 6 and 12 months post-treatment.
The effect sizes are large by clinical research standards. On mental health distress, the effect size is η²=.65. On social role distress, η²=.66. On relationship distress, η²=.52. A change of 1 unit on the OQ-45 is clinically meaningful — Legacy clients move from an average of 1.2 above the clinical threshold at admission to 1.1 below it by Week 12. That is a full crossing of the clinical line.
Yes. This is one of Legacy’s most important findings. Follow-up data at 6 to 12 months post-treatment confirms that gains in mental health, relationships, social role functioning, and family functioning are sustained. Clients don’t just improve at Legacy — they remain measurably healthier after they leave.
Yes. Legacy began serving female clients in 2018 at Juniper Canyon. Outcome data for male and female clients shows statistically equivalent improvement in mental health and social role functioning. Both groups reach the healthy range post-treatment. The program demonstrates broad efficacy across gender.
Yes. Legacy serves adults ages 18–40, with an average admission age of 24. Statistical analysis shows that age does not predict the amount of benefit a client receives — outcomes are equivalent across the full age range. A 35-year-old can expect the same meaningful improvement as a 20-year-old.
Yes. Most Legacy clients (89%) arrive with at least two primary clinical reasons for referral. The most common are addiction, depression, anxiety, and trauma — but the client population also includes personality disorders, eating disorders, ADHD, autism spectrum presentations, and other complex co-occurring conditions. Legacy’s outcomes data reflects effectiveness with a clinically complex adult population, not a low-acuity one.
One year after treatment, 47% of Legacy graduates are living independently. The remainder are in a range of supported and community living situations. Nearly half functioning independently at one year is a concrete indicator that Legacy’s outcomes translate into real-world functioning.
The 2024 Evaluation Report was prepared by OutcomeTools by BestNotes, an independent evaluation firm. Legacy is also recognized as a Research Designated Program by NATSAP — an external designation that requires meeting established standards for how outcomes are collected, analyzed, and reported. The data is not self-reported.
