THE SYSTEM DESCRIBED HAS BEEN EMPLOYED BY THE JEFFERSON COUNTY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER, A COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER IN COLORADO. IN SETTING THE STRUCTURE FOR THE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, A GOAL IS OPERATIONALLY DEFINED AS A PROGRAM OUTCOME THAT GIVES DIRECTION TO THE ORGANIZATION'S EFFORTS, AND AN OBJECTIVE IS CONSIDERED TO BE A DESCRIPTIVE STATEMENT THAT WILL QUANTIFY MEASUREMENT OF SUCCESSFULLY OBTAINING A GOAL. CENTER EXECUTIVE STAFF IDENTIFIED SEVERAL GOALS FOR THE CENTER DURING 1972-1973. THE TOP PRIORITY GOAL WAS DEVELOPMENT OF A QUALITY INTERVENTION SYSTEM FOR THE TARGET AREA. QUALITY INTERVENTION WAS SUBCATEGORIZED INTO PROCESS ELEMENTS; E.G., INTAKE, EMERGENCY, INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP TREATMENT, PARTIAL CARE, AND 24-HOUR CARE. FOR EACH OF THESE OBJECTIVES, CRITERION VARIABLES WERE DEVELOPED FOR DATA COLLECTION THAT WOULD BE USED TO MEASURE AND EVALUATE GOAL ATTAINMENT. EVALUATION OBJECTIVES WERE STATED AS FOLLOWS: (1) ESTABLISH BEHAVIOR-RELATED OUTCOME CRITERION ON ALL CLIENTS; AND (2) MAKE FOLLOWUP CONTACT WITH CLIENT AT 3 AND 6 MONTH INTERVALS TO DETERMINE CLIENT SATISFACTION. IN MEETING EVALUATION OBJECTIVES, DATA IS GATHERED THAT IS USED TO MEASURE EFFECTIVENESS IN ACHIEVING GOALS. EXAMPLES OF HOW THIS PLANNING SEQUENCE WORKS FOR PARTICULAR OPERATIONS ARE PRESENTED, AND SAMPLES OF DATA FORMS USED ARE PROVIDED. A SIGNIFICANT POLICY UNDERLYING THE SYSTEM IS THE PROVISION OF MERIT RAISES EQUIVALENT TO 1.7 PERCENT PER MONTH FOR THE TRIMESTER FOR STAFF WHO HAVE ATTAINED THEIR GOALS. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THIS POLICY OF REWARD IS CRUCIAL TO THE FUNCTIONING OF THE SYTEM. TALBLES ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)