Comparing consumer and nonconsumer provided case management services for homeless persons with serious mental illness

This study compared the outcomes of services provided by case managers who are mental health system consumers and case managers who were not consumers . The study focused on the first two cohorts that entered the ACCESS progra m, a 5-year demonstration program funded by the Center for Mental Health Se rvices between 1994 and 1996. We tested the associations between the type o f case manager and clinical outcomes at three time points (baseline, 3 mont hs, and 12 months). A series of one-way repeated measures of analyses of va riance were conducted on clients from ACCESS sites that hired consumer prov iders. Although there were significant effects of Time for almost every out come measure (clients improved over time), there were no significant Time x Case Manager Type interactions. Staff age, race, or gender did not signifi cantly alter the pattern of these results. Given that services provided by consumers and non-consumers were associated with equivalent client outcomes , the present study shows, using a large sample, the ability of consumers t o provide mental health sen;ices as members of a case management team.