Community mental health services in transition

Major policy and funding shifts over the last several years have stimulated a series of changes in local mental health agencies. Services offered by CMHCs became less comprehensive and more oriented toward chronic and severely ill patients. Decreases occurred in other services, primarily indirect services. Changes in services and in clients served caused reconfiguration in staffing patterns, and also affected the types of activities some staff perform. The implications of these service and staffing changes for local mental health agencies are discussed.