THE USE OF THE MULTNOMAH COMMUNITY ABILITY SCALE AS A PROGRAM EVALUATION TOOL

The Multnomah Community Ability Scale (MCAS) is a standardized measure of functioning of people with mental illness living in the community. This study assessed feasibility and utility of the MCAS for routine outcome monitoring of clients enrolled in intensive community support programs. Burden related to training and administration was assessed and scale properties were evaluated, using data collected from a multisite community mental health evaluation initiative. Minimum effort was required to achieve good inter-rater reliability and administer the measure. The validity of the MCAS for measuring change in community functioning in new program clients was supported. However, MCAS ratings for ongoing clients were stable. Future studies can assess the relevance of the MCAS for measuring improvement in this client group.