A COMMUNITY ABILITY SCALE FOR CHRONICALLY MENTALLY-ILL CONSUMERS .2. APPLICATIONS

The authors describe uses for a 17-item instrument that efficiently me asures the functioning level of chronically mentally ill persons livin g in the community. The Multnomah Community Ability Scale is designed to be completed by case managers who work with chronically mentally il l consumers. The instrument is sensitive to differences among individu als within this special population of consumers and is easy to complet e. Community mental health program staff can be trained to use the sca le reliably. The scale has been used to compare levels of severity bet ween urban and rural community mental health program clients. The auth ors discuss the application of the Multnomah Community Ability Scale t o a capitated payment system for severely mentally ill, involuntary cl ients.