State mental health policy: Effect on outcomes for priority populations

Services & policy information derived from the National Assoc of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Instit's State Mental Health Authority Profiling System & from data on 1990 mental health services collected through the Inventory of Mental Health Organizations are used to examine the relationship of policies identifying children with severe emotional disturbance & elderly mentally ill as priority populations with actual utilization. Two outcome variables were used: (1) the proportion of severely emotionally disturbed children or elderly clients in the total service population (service utilization), & (2) the proportion of treated individuals with mental illness in the state population (relative access). Initial analyses suggest a need for improving the systematic reporting of identified priority populations & provide planning implications for state & federal officials. 2 Tables, 20 References. Adapted from the source document.