Community alternatives to institutional care

The Community Mental Health Center Amendments of 1975 (Public Law 94- 63) mandate that federally funded mental health centers provide specific services to patients discharged from mental health facilities, including follow-up care and a system of transitional halfway houses. In addition, they must provide assistance in screening potential inpatients and provide alternative treatment when appropriate. The author stresses the need to coordinate the resources of public and private agencies through interagency planning, collaboration, and coordinated service delivery, the need to create new resources where none exist, and the need for more involvement by psychiatristis.