Use of formal assessments among providers of residential services for the seriously mentally ill.

A survey of use of formal scales in assessment was sent to 1381 agencies that provide residential services to the seriously mentally ill. 271 residential agencies responded. A majority of respondents who used formal assessments used in-house measures. Scales were used most often in client care decisions. A substantial minority of respondents reported being somewhat or very dissatisfied with existing scales. Lack of predictive ability and staff time required were the most frequently cited difficulties. The study indicates a need for better assessments to aid client-care planning, and promote interagency communication.