Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate administrative strategies which community mental health center directors were utilizing to confront declining financial resources. Thirty-two out of a total of 41 area directors in North Carolina who met certain criteria were the subjects, and their responses to a thirty item questionnaire were analyzed. Four strategies were both utilized and perceived as being effective: (1) increased efficiency of services; (2) increased efforts to obtain fees for service; (3) more economical modes of treatment; and (4) service reduction, but this strategy was recommended only as a last resort if all other strategies fail.
References
Behn, R.D. (1980). Leadership for cut-back management: The use of corporate strategy.Public Administration Review, November/December, 613–621.
Biller, R.P. (1980). Leadership tactics for retrenchment.Public Administration Review, November/December, 604–609.
Connery, R.H. (1968).The politics of mental health: Organizing community mental health in metropolitan areas. New York: Columbia University.
Division of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services (1984).Community based programs budget history, 1974–75 through 1983–84. Unpublished report, Raleigh, North Carolina.
Foley, H. A. (1975).Community mental health legislation: The formative process. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books.
Hatry, H.P. (1983).A review of private approaches for delivery of public services. Washington, D.C.: the Urban Institute Press.
Hirschhorn, L. (1983).Cutting back: Retrenchment and redevelopment in human and community services. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Holley, S.H. (1983). Cutback managment in local government: a case study (Doctoral Dissertation, University of Georgia, 1983).Dissertation Abstracts International 44(5).
Jick, T.D., & Murray, V. V. (1982). The management of hard times: Budget cutbacks in public sector organizations.Organizational Studies, 3, 141–169.
Kiesler, C.A. (1980). Mental health policy as a field of inquiry for psychology.American Psychologist, 35, 1062–1080.
Levine, H. (1978). Organizational decline and cutback management.Public Administration Review, 38, 316–325.
Lewis, C.W. & Logalbo, A.R. (1980). Cutback principles and practices: A checklist for managers.Public Administration Review, March/April, 184–188.
Lippitt, G. & Lippitt, R. (1982). Downsizing'—How to manage more with less.Management Review, March, 9–14.
Mechanic, D. (1980).Mental health and social policy (2nd ed.), Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Nachmias, David and Nachmias, Chava (1981).Research methods in the social sciences, (2nd ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press.
North Carolina Department of Human Resources, Division of Mental Health, Statistics Section (1983). Unpublished Report, Raleigh, N.C.
North Carolina Department of State Auditor. (1979).Area Mental Health Centers, Raleigh, N.C.: N.C. Department of State Auditor.
Pardes, H. & Stockdill, J. W. (1984). Survival strategies for community mental health services in the 1980's.Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 35, 127–132.
Segal, J. (Ed.). (1975).Research in the service of mental health: Report of the research task force of the national institute of mental health. Rockville Maryland. National Institute of Mental Health.
Weinberg, M. (1984). Budget retrenchment in small cities: A comparative analysis of Wooster and Athens, Ohio.Public Budgeting & Finance, Autumn, 46–57.
Whetten, D.A. (1980a). Organizational decline: A neglected topic in organizational science.Academy of Management Review, 5, 577–588.
Whetten, D.A. (1980b). Sources, responses, and effects of organizational decline. In: J.R. Kimberly, R.H. Miles, & Associates (Eds.),The Organizational Life Cycle: Creation, Transformation, and Decline (pp. 342–374), San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Whitaker, G.P. (1980). Coproduction: Citizen participation in service delivery.Public Administration Review, May/June, 240–247.
Zelman, W.M. & McLaughlin, C.P. (1985). Survival strategies for community mental health organizations: A conceptual framework.Community Mental Health Journal, 21, 228–236.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This study is based in part on the senior author's doctoral dissertation completed at Nova University.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Edwards, L.G., Mitchell, C.C. Strategies for cutback management in community mental health centers. Community Ment Health J 23, 140–151 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00757169
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00757169