Mental health expenditures in California counties

In 1957 California began placing responsibility for public mental health services on county programs still vary widely in emphasis and size. The authors explored determinants of counties' unequal program developments using per capita expenditures as the measure of county services. Sociodemographic variables that help explain states' social program expenditures correlate weakly or not at all with county mental health expenditures. The most powerful predictor of these expenditures is number of psychiatrists per 10,000 population. Equal per capita expenditures, however, are not a reasonable goal; these can mask wide variations in program content, efficiency, and quality of care.