Public Benefit Corporation Model for MH Services

Evaluation of the Applicability of the Public Benefit Corporation Model for Mental Health Services

Principal Investigators: Gerald Benjamin, Ph.D.,Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and Richard Pulice, Ph.D., Professor of Social Welfare, School of Social Work, SUNY, Albany, Center Consultant: David O'Neill, Ph.D.

PROJECT GOALS
The purpose of the project is to evaluate, within a changing intergovernmental context, the applicability of the Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) as a model for mental health services.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AND RESULTS
Consultation was provided on issues of cost and cost effectiveness measurement related to PBC as an alternative civil service bureau. An analytic paper, "The Public Benefit Corporation and the Allocation of Resources in the Provision of Public Mental Health Services: A Comparison of New York City and Baltimore," was submitted to the SUNY co-investigators for use in their study. The final report commissioned by the New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors, titled "Public Benefit Corporations: Voices from the Field: Institutional and Legislative Considerations for the Mental Hygiene System in New York State" is available from the researchers at Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government or from the Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors.

SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS/POLICY IMPLICATIONS
This study is relevant to the broad problem of finding efficient ways to deliver mental health and other services to the population of individuals with severe mental illness living in the community. If the PBC model is found to lower costs while keeping effectiveness constant, then its adoption will increase the efficiency of resource allocation within the mental health sector.

Project completed.

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