UNIT COSTS OF COMMUNITY MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICES

The unit (hourly) costs of delivering services for six community menta l health agencies in the greater Portland, Oregon area were computed. The calculations include an explicit methodology for allocating indire ct costs associated with clinical services and with administrative ove rhead. Substantial variation among the six agencies in their unit cost s was found and is explained by agency differences in: use of high cos t (chiefly medical) personnel, the fraction of time staff spend in dir ect face-to-face client contact, and numbers of clients in treatment g roups. The methodology as well as the results are increasingly importa nt for community mental health programs in the era of managed mental h ealth care.