BROAD MONITORING OF THE PROCESS OF A COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER INCLUDES ASSESSING COMMUNITY NEEDS, DESCRIBING THE UTILIZATION OF SERVICES BY DIFFERENT TYPES OF CLIENTS, MEETING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS OF FUNDERS, AND INTEGRATING CLIENT AND STAFF STATISTICS WITH THE ACCOUNTING SYSTEM IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT COST-FINDING AND RATE-SETTING ACTIVITIES. SIX EXAMPLES OF PROGRAM EVALUATION ARE CITED THAT DEAL WITH CLIENT LEVELS OF FUNCTIONING, FOLLOWUP USING VOLUNTEERS, DAY CARE, FEEDBACK TO THERAPISTS, GROUP THERAPY, AND THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF COMMUNITY TREATMENT. THE EXAMPLES CONVEY THE VARIETY OF FUNCTIONS THAT OUTCOME EVALUATION MAY SERVE. THESE FUNCTIONS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING: MONITORING CLIENT OUTCOME, DEMONSTRATING PROGRAM QUALITY, AND CONDUCTING STUDIES TO AID IN DECISIONMAKING. ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED WHEN PLANNING A STUDY AND CONDUCTING AN EVALUATION INVOLVE SELECTION OF THE TREATMENT COMPARISON, ASSIGNMENT TO TREATMENT, SELECTION OF SUBJECTS, INFORMED CONSENT PROCEDURE, DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE, DESCRIPTION OF TREATMENT RECEIVED, SELECTION OF PREDICTOR VARIABLES, SELECTION OF OUTCOME MEASURES, DATA ANALYSIS, AND FEEDBACK OF RESULTS INTO THE DECISION PROCESS. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (DEP)