The purpose of this project is to test the hypothesis that the service delivery activities of mental health centers are sufficiently systematic that they are predictable from descriptive data about the agency. The project will develop a generalized conceptual model of community mental health centers, write a computer program to implement the model and validate the model. The model will represent the flow of clients through the agency, including assignment to treatment programs, provision of services and billing for services, referral to other agency programs, clients' failing to appear for or dropping out of services, staff discharging clients from services, etc. The model will incorporate data about agency treatment programs, staff time allocations to programs, client characteristics and agency budget. The data requirements are matched to data collected by the State Mental Health Information System, and uses definitions of services, data codes, etc., developed by the State Mental Health Division. Output data will include waiting list times, intra-agency referrals, numbers and types of services provided and service costs and revenue estimates. Any of the input variables describing the agency or clients can be altered to determine how agency performance would be affected. Systematic manipulation of these inputs should produce results which can be used, for example, (1) to influence management information system (MIS) structure and practice by identifying the indices that are the most significant predictors of agency performance as well as the optimal level of detail for the data elements and (b) to explore relationships among costs of and revenues from services, on the one hand, and agency staffing, program structure and reimbursement sources and procedures on the other. The model itself provides a rigorous framework for incorporating theory and data from a wide variety of sources. Validation of the model will lead to an improved understanding of basic agency organizational processes.
