WHAT IS A CMHC - A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS BY VARYING DEFINITIONAL CRITERIA

Using definitions of a community mental health center (CMHC) derived f rom the original federal legislation, amendments that expanded the ran ge of required services, and alternative conceptions of what constitut es a CMHC, the authors identify organizations that match those definit ions in the National Institute of Mental Health Inventory of Mental He alth Organizations. A distribution by organizational type is reported with a discriminant analysis applied to explore potential differences.