Surviving cutbacks in community mental health: seventy-seven action strategies

The question of how community mental health centers could best weather cutbacks in funding was addressed in this study. A survey was conducted with a panel of experts in this area yielding a total of 77 action strategies that agencies could utilize in these difficult financial times. These strategies are reported in terms of services, treatment modalities, consultation, education and training, staffing, personnel policies, location of services, finance and business practices, third party reimbursement, overhead and administrative costs, role of the Board, monitoring the external environment and linkages and contacts. It was recommended that these strategies not be utilized as a recipe for survival but rather as a self-study guide by individual agencies.