Abstract
Funding reductions and changes in the priorities of funding agencies have deeply affected community mental health programs. The burden of handling resource scarcity and shifting service priorities falls primarily on the community boards and staff of local agencies. We report a Delphi study in which an expert panel of 106 community mental health center executive directors and government officials generated a list of key strategies that local agencies could take to survive cutbacks. From an initial list suggested by the panel, a consensus was developed on the 15 most important and most feasible strategies. Discussion focuses on the implications and use of these strategies to promote the survival, even growth, of community-based mental health services during times of scarcity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acher, W. (1978).Forecasting. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Broskowski, A. (1976). Management information systems for planning and evaluation in human services. In H. C. Schulberg & F. Baker (Eds.),Program evaluation in the health fields, Vol. 2 (pp. 147–171).
Broskowski, A. (1982). Leading and managing mental health centers. In H. Schulberg & M. Killilea (Eds.),The modern practice of community mental health (pp. 265–288), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Broskowski, A., O'Brien, G., & Prevost, J. (1982). Interorganizational strategies for survival: Looking ahead to 1990.Administration in Mentalth, 9, 198–210.
Buntz, G. (1977). Developing human service administrators.Administration in Mental Health, 4, 42–51.
Davis, D. (1982). Participation in community intervention design.American Journal of Community Psychology, 10, 429–446.
Delbecq, A., VandeVen, A., & Gustafson, D. (1975).Group techniques for program planning. Glen View, IL: Scott, Foresman.
Demone, H. W. & Harshbarger, D. (1973). The planning and administration of human services. In H. C. Schulberg, F. Baker, & S. R. Roen (Eds.),Developments in human services, Vol. 1. (pp. 143–264). New York: Behavioral Publications.
Feldman, S. (Ed.), (1981).Mental health administration: An annotated bibliography, Vol. 2. (DHHS Publication No. ADM 81-1155.) Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Feldman, S., Goldstein, C., & Offutt, J. (Eds.). (1980).Mental health administration: An annotated bibliography, Vol. 1. (DHHS Publication No. ADM 80-548). Washington, DC.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Glasscote, R. & Gudeman, J. (1969).The staff of the CMHC: A field study, Washington, DC: The Joint Information Service of the APA and the NIMH.
Goplerud, E., Walfish, S., & Apsey, M. (1983). Surviving cutbacks in community mental health: Seventyseven action strategies.Community Mental Health Journal, 19, 62–76.
Jasson, B. S., & Taylor, S. H. (1978). The planning contradiction in social agencies: Great expectations versus satisfaction with limited performance.Administration in Social Work, 2, 171–181.
Levine, C. (Ed.),Managing fiscal stress: The crisis in the public sector, Chatham, NJ: Chatham House Publishers.
Linstone, H. A., & Turoff, M. (Eds.), (1975).The Delphi method: Techniques and applications. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Naierman, N., Haskins, B. & Robinson, G. (1978).Community mental centers: A decade later. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates.
National Institute of Mental Health, Survey and Reports Branch, Division of Biometry and Epidemiology. (1981).Provisional data on federally funded community mental health centers: 1978–1979. Washington, DC: Author.
Roemer, M. I., & Friedman, J. W. (1971).Doctors and hospitals. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Simon, H. A. (1976).Administrative behavior: A study of decision making process in administrative organizations. New York: Free Press.
Steiner, G. A. (1979).Strategic planning: What'every manager must know. New York: Free Press.
Wasserman, D., Woy, R., & Weiner-Pomerantz, R. (1981). Movement away from the model: Community mental health centers after federal funding.Community Mental Health Journal, 17, 265–276.
Woy, R., & Mazade, N. (1982). Community mental health centers in transition: Report on a national conference.Administration in Mental Health, 9, 211–224.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This research was funded in part by a grant from the Council of Management of the National Council of Community Mental Health Centers. The authors wish to express their appreciation to the Delphi panelists, without whose insight this research could never have been done. Special thanks are extended to Marie Apsey and Gwen Saylor and to Saul Shiffman, Murray Levine, Dick Woy, and Terry Goplerud for their comments on earlier drafts of this article. An earlier draft of this paper was awarded the 1984 Walter E. Barton Award from the American College of Mental Health Administrators, and the 1984 Outstanding Research Award from the Division of Consulting Psychology, American Psychological Association.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goplerud, E.N., Walfish, S. & Broskowski, A. Weathering the cuts: A Delphi survey on surviving cutbacks in community mental health. Community Ment Health J 21, 14–27 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00754703
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00754703