Community mental health center legislation: flight of the phoenix.

The author describes the history and implications of recent legislation affecting community mental health centers. New legislative requirements will result in centers seeing typically underserved populations (children, the elderly, and drug and alcohol abusers) as part of 7 new essential services. The impact of new grant mechanisms and the role of the National Institute of Mental Health in assisting and evaluating centers are examined. The author concludes that as a result of legislative and other trends in mental health care, psychiatrists will be seeing sicker patients for shorter periods, role confusion in the mental health professions will lessen, and centers will be forced to devote much time and effort to financial concerns and appropriate allocation of manpower.