N 1954, New York State passed the Community Mental Health Service I Law which authorized the establishment by local government of mental health boards for the planning and coordination of community mental health programs, with provision that the state would reimburse the locality 50 per cent of the cost of approved programs. The most rapid growth in facilities under this act has been in the multiplication and expansion of psychiatric outpatient clinics. This expansion has not been entirely dependent on state aid, as several clinics which receive no form of public aid or support have been newly organized each year.By the provisions of an earlier law, all psychiatric outpatient clinics in New York State, whether operated by local government or by voluntary membership corporations, must be licensed by the Department of Mental Hygiene. On March 31, 1959, there were 197 licensed clinics in the state, and 31 that were operated by the Department of Mental Hygiene, either through traveling child guidance teams or by the various mental institutions.As a means of maintaining standards, and as an aid in planning and coordinating community mental health programs, on February 1, 1958, a new, required statistical reporting system was initiated for all psychiatric clinics. Each clinic was required to submit monthly a general activity report for the clinic, and an individual summary form for each terminated case. While two years is a short time in which to establish such a reporting system, the value of statistical reporting for planning and revisions of programs can be assessed, although conclusions remain somewhat tentative.The statistical facts included in this paper are drawn from the fiscal year April 1, 1958-March 31, 1959, and cover the reports of 228 psychiatric clinics, 142 of which are operating with state financial support through community mental health boards, 31 of which are being operated by child guidance teams or the institutions of the Department of Mental Hygiene, and 55 of which receive no state support. For manageable brevity much statistical data are here presented in summary form without the supporting tables.
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