To expand understanding of how to improve efficacy as well as enhance the implementation of effective aftercare programs, there is a need to study the following issues: how to operationalize aftercare as usual, how to improve retention and engagement in aftercare, and how to determine or match the optimal duration, dosage, and specificity of interventions to the individual needs of patients (i.e., patient-treatment matching). In this era of increasing demand for services and growing competition for dwindling federal and state resources, phone interventions might offer additional resourceful, innovative approaches to maximize treatment effectiveness. IBTPC may be a reasonably cost-effective method for providing aftercare, particularly compared with no aftercare. Finally, this approach could be adopted for use with other psychiatric disorders in youths. This article evaluates the various approaches to improving the efficacy of aftercare programs focusing on defining aftercare/continuity of care, rationale for and the elements of aftercare planning needed, rationale for the use of individual brief therapeutic phone contacts (IBTPC) in aftercare, and the application and implementation of the IBTPC.