THE HENNEPIN COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE OFFERS COMPREHENSIVE DIAGNOSTIC, TREATMENT, AND REFERRAL SERVICES TO ABOUT 5,000 CLIENTS PER YEAR. THE SERVICE WAS RECENTLY THE SITE OF AN INNOVATIVE 4-YEAR EVALUATION PROJECT DESIGNED TO TEST THE FEASIBILITY, VALIDITY, AND RELIABILITY OF AN EVALUATION INSTRUMENT, THE GOAL ATTAINMENT SCALE (GAS). GAS WAS DESIGNED TO ESTABLISH AND MEASURE A CLIENT'S PROGRESS TOWARD PREDICTED LEVELS OF THERAPY OUTCOME. SCALED OUTCOMES WERE INTENDED FOR USE IN ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VARIOUS TREATMENT METHODS OFFERED AT THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE. THE INSTRUMENT PROVIDED EFFECTIVE, AND STIMULATED A PERMANENT INTEREST IN EVALUATION AMONG STAFF MEMBERS, AND CONTRIBUTED TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE MANAGEMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED. GAS HAS ALSO BEEN MODIFIED AND USED IN THE SETTING OF CLIENT-SPECIFIC GOALS. THE CURRENT EVALUATION SYSTEM FOR THE ADULT OUTPATIENT PROGRAM INCLUDES PROCESS AND OUTCOME INDICES AND EVALUATES DIRECT CLINICAL SERVICES, RESEARCH AND EVALUATION, AND TRAINING. THE EVALUATION SYSTEM ALSO TRIES TO MONITOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES AND IS USED TO MAKE MANAGEMENT DECISIONS THAT ALLOW THE PROGRAM TO MEET ITS STATED OBJECTIVES EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY. A COMPUTER MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM TRACKS CLIENTS FROM INTAKE THROUGH TERMINATION AND ALLOWS THE INTEGRATION OF DATA FROM DIFFERENT UNITS AND CENTERS. THE ORGANIZATION'S CURRENT INFORMATION AND EVALUATION SYSTEM SHOWS THAT COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION EFFORTS CAN SUCCEED AND BE MAINTAINED IN A LARGE, COMPLEX METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER. CHARTS ILLUSTRATE THE SYSTEM ELEMENTS. FOOTNOTES ARE PROVIDED.