One of the major social programs of the 1960s was the development of community
mental health centers. As with most early attempts at evaluation, the results were
pessimistic. This article reanalyzes one of the earliest, and best-known, evaluations of
a community-based treatment facility. Following the conceptual framework of
Campbell and his associates, it was found that the various threats to the validity of
the findings indicate a consistent and systematic bias against detecting a positive
effect for the new mental health center. In light of recent federal legislation
mandating formal evaluations, appropriate procedures are discussed.
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