Abstract
Community mental health centers are increasingly conducting studies of program effectiveness and impact. But conducting evaluative studies does not mean that the results are used in making programmatic decisions. In this study of forty-two community mental health centers, evaluative data were utilized in making some programmatic decisions, but, by far, the most important decision-making factor identified by CMHC directors was availability of funds. Few characteristics of CMHCs or their directors were associated with the use of evaluative information in programmatic decision making.
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Diana M. DiNitto is Assistant Professor and C. Aaron McNeece is Associate Professor at the Florida State University School of Social Work, Tallahassee, FL 32306, and Peter J. Johnson is Assistant Professor at the School of Social Work of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27514. This paper was originally presented at the 1981 symposium of the National Association of Social Workers on November 19, 1981 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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DiNitto, D.M., McNeece, C.A. & Johnson, P.J. Receptivity to the use of evaluation in community mental health centers. Administration in Mental Health 11, 170–183 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00819529
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00819529