ABSTRACT
Data compiled by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors were used to compare expenditures and revenues of state mental health agencies in fiscal years 1981, 1983, and 1985. The agencies had direct control of funds totaling $8.3 billion in 1985, compared with $7.1 billion in 1983 and $6.1 billion in 1981, but spending in the three years varied by less than 1 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars. Spending for state mental hospitals declined by 5 percent, while spending for community-based programs grew by 10 percent. The great majority of the agencies' funds, 78 percent in 1985, were provided by state governments. Information about the budgets of state mental health agencies can help fill the financial information gap that confronts policymakers in the federal, state, and local mental health service delivery systems.
