RACIAL MATCHING AND SERVICE UTILIZATION AMONG SERIOUSLY MENTALLY-ILL CONSUMERS IN THE RURAL SOUTH

The authors examined racial matching between case manager and client f or 677 seriously mentally ill consumers served through a rural communi ty mental health center in the southeastern United States. Nonparametr ic statistics indicated that client-case manager dyads were more likel y to be of the same race than of different races. Same-race dyads tend ed to have greater service utilization as indicated by a greater numbe r of made appointments over the study period. An interaction was found for failed appointments where African Americans in same-race dyads we re more likely to fail appointments, while caucasian consumers in same -race dyads were less likely to fail appointments.