Ds adequately. Assessors had to determine whether assigning a payee would likely ameliorate the negative consequences of substance use. One Lasalocid (sodium) biological activity participant only spent 60 a month on alcohol and received other drugs in exchange for letting people use his apartment. Even though the amount spent on alcohol was small, the participant’s alcohol use resulted in his discharge from methadone treatment, after which he relapsed on heroin and had subsequent drug-related problems. Another participant reported receiving cocaine in return for helping drug dealers “run customers.” This participant had a long history of legal problems, hospitalizations, and social conflict associated with his drug use and was taking a large risk by working for drug dealers. A third participant spent an average of only 10 per month on alcohol but reported that she would occasionally binge drink, resulting in blackouts, hospitalizations, and legal problems. Capability is fluid over time, which can create ambiguities–Two beneficiaries illustrate how financial capability is a fluid construct. Ambiguities arise depending on whether capability is assessed over a period of time or at one moment in time. In one case, a participant reported a significant period of time in the preceding six months during which he did not have enough money for food and, because he had recently been released from prison, did not have a stable place to live. Subsequently, however, the participant started receiving food stamps and, a few weeks later, was able to find stable living arrangements. Looking at the six month period as a whole, the participant was not meeting basic needs for the KF-89617 web majority of the time, but at the time of the interview, the participant’s situation had stabilized and his basic needs were met. Another participant reported stable housing and utilities over the preceding six months, but unstable medications, food and clothing. Her needs were met for the majority of the six-month period but episodic impulsive spending contributed to some financial hardship and unmet needs. Predicting future stability caused ambiguity–For four participants, ambiguities arose over the stability of supports that had helped a participant manage money. In one example, a participant would have failed to meet her basic needs from her Social Security payments but was able to with the intermittent help of her family and in-kind transfers with friends. At the time of the participant interview, the participant reported that she had asked her sister to help manage her affairs. The sister’s intervention was successful. However, because the participant had a history of rejecting help, the assessor felt it was unlikely that the participant would continue to allow her sister to assist, and would continue to managePsychiatr Serv. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 March 01.Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptLazar et al.Pageher funds poorly. In two other cases, a participant’s mother helped manage the participant’s finances but there was inconsistent control of the funds and uncertainty about whether the beneficiaries would continue receiving help. For a fourth beneficiary, the participant pooled resources with his roommate in a joint bank account. The roommate then paid all the bills. The participant was relatively unaware of his expenses and the assessor had difficulty determining the stability of the roommate arrangement. Discrepancies between sources of data (participant.Ds adequately. Assessors had to determine whether assigning a payee would likely ameliorate the negative consequences of substance use. One participant only spent 60 a month on alcohol and received other drugs in exchange for letting people use his apartment. Even though the amount spent on alcohol was small, the participant’s alcohol use resulted in his discharge from methadone treatment, after which he relapsed on heroin and had subsequent drug-related problems. Another participant reported receiving cocaine in return for helping drug dealers “run customers.” This participant had a long history of legal problems, hospitalizations, and social conflict associated with his drug use and was taking a large risk by working for drug dealers. A third participant spent an average of only 10 per month on alcohol but reported that she would occasionally binge drink, resulting in blackouts, hospitalizations, and legal problems. Capability is fluid over time, which can create ambiguities–Two beneficiaries illustrate how financial capability is a fluid construct. Ambiguities arise depending on whether capability is assessed over a period of time or at one moment in time. In one case, a participant reported a significant period of time in the preceding six months during which he did not have enough money for food and, because he had recently been released from prison, did not have a stable place to live. Subsequently, however, the participant started receiving food stamps and, a few weeks later, was able to find stable living arrangements. Looking at the six month period as a whole, the participant was not meeting basic needs for the majority of the time, but at the time of the interview, the participant’s situation had stabilized and his basic needs were met. Another participant reported stable housing and utilities over the preceding six months, but unstable medications, food and clothing. Her needs were met for the majority of the six-month period but episodic impulsive spending contributed to some financial hardship and unmet needs. Predicting future stability caused ambiguity–For four participants, ambiguities arose over the stability of supports that had helped a participant manage money. In one example, a participant would have failed to meet her basic needs from her Social Security payments but was able to with the intermittent help of her family and in-kind transfers with friends. At the time of the participant interview, the participant reported that she had asked her sister to help manage her affairs. The sister’s intervention was successful. However, because the participant had a history of rejecting help, the assessor felt it was unlikely that the participant would continue to allow her sister to assist, and would continue to managePsychiatr Serv. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2016 March 01.Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptLazar et al.Pageher funds poorly. In two other cases, a participant’s mother helped manage the participant’s finances but there was inconsistent control of the funds and uncertainty about whether the beneficiaries would continue receiving help. For a fourth beneficiary, the participant pooled resources with his roommate in a joint bank account. The roommate then paid all the bills. The participant was relatively unaware of his expenses and the assessor had difficulty determining the stability of the roommate arrangement. Discrepancies between sources of data (participant.