This study demonstrates the usefulness of cluster analytic patterns of care in a sample of 979 children receiving federal mental health services. Six patterns were identified. These service-utilization clusters provide a useful and easily understood way to summarize children's quantity of use of various mental health services. (SLD)

A methodology was developed for conducting a benefit-cost analysis of an innovative supported employment intervention for the psychiatrically disabled. Results indicated that the program, which targeted 19 participants, approached cost efficiency of almost .90 of benefits to costs. The value of the methodology for program evaluation is discussed.…

The satisfaction of 469 parents or guardians and 387 of their children who received mental health services at 22 community agencies in Illinois was assessed with standardized measures and procedures. Youths' satisfaction was less than that of their parents. Results are used to formulate a prediction model. (SLD)

Issues involved in applying the needs assessment model of the Colorado Social Health Survey to planning and management in Massachusetts are reviewed. The methodology in this special issue provides a new paradigm for mental health needs assessment in general and will be valuable in the Massachusetts plan specifically. (SLD)

Implications of the Colorado Social Health Survey for indirect needs assessment in mental health planning and administration are discussed. The survey model parameters' generalizability to other areas of the nation should be investigated, as well as improved ways of linking specific populations to needs, preferences, and outcome dimensions. (SLD)

Service-planning issues necessary for successful implementation of an indirect needs-assessment model to estimate geographical differences in the prevalence of needs for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services are discussed. The issues include selection of need categories as target groups, estimation model selection, and understanding…

A summary is provided of a large-scale needs assessment research project in Colorado that tested the validity of several statistical procedures or models for indirectly estimating the need for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services across geographic subregions using a Colorado Social Health Survey sample of 4,745 adults. (SLD)

A stratified probability sample of 4,745 adults in Colorado was surveyed to determine the need for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services. Findings that variation in need prevalence across 48 subareas of the state substantially challenge the assumptions of a uniform rate of need in a state. (SLD)

A pilot study assessing parent satisfaction with mental health services for children was a disappointment in its low response rate (28%, 15 of 53 questionnaires). However, the questionnaire, the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire, was an easy to use and effective tool that identified some sources of dissatisfaction. (SLD)

Articles in this special issue use survey data to provide policymakers with validated indirect needs assessment models that will help them obtain information about populations requiring different levels and types of mental health services. The articles provide the basis for predictive needs assessment and explanatory models of resource allocation.…

Results of empirical validation studies of six statistical models available for indirectly estimating the need for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services across a large geographic area are presented. Models were evaluated using Colorado Social Health Survey data for 4,745 adults from 48 subareas of Colorado. (SLD)

The six articles of this special section address the organizational context that shapes utilization of mental health services, the relevance of data elements and results to decision making, and assuring the validity of evaluation results. Theoretical and practical concerns are considered. (SLD)

Six existing statistical procedures (models) for indirectly assessing the prevalence of need for alcohol, drug abuse, and mental health services across subareas of a state are described and critiqued in terms of epidemiological and statistical characteristics. Specific advantages and disadvantages are listed for each model. (SLD)

Assessments of 41 mentally ill adults (consumers of mental health services) of their level of functioning were compared with assessments by family members and mental health services case managers. Moderate correlations are found among the perspectives, and the relevance of the three perspectives for community-based service provision is discussed.…