THE EMPHASIS OF EVALUATION IN THIS COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER IS MONITORING PROGRAM PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES WHICH ARE RELATED TO MANAGEMENT'S BASIC OBJECTIVES, THUS AIDING MANAGEMENT DECISIONMAKING. THE TYPES OF INFORMATION NEEDED FOR MOST DECISION-SUPPORT EFFORTS ARE DIVIDED INTO INPUT, PROCESS (INCLUDING COST), AND OUTPUT DATA CATEGORIES. SOME SPECIAL INFORMATION CATEGORIES INCLUDE NEEDS DATA, BUDGETARY INFORMATION (DERIVED FROM ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS), AND INDIRECT (CONSULTATION) SERVICES DATA; ONLY NEEDS DATA ARE DISCUSSED IN THIS PRESENTATION. THE MOST WIDELY USED INFORMATION IN THE CENTER IS GENERATED FROM THE DIRECT SERVICES SYSTEM (CLIENT INTAKE AND SUBSEQUENT ENCOUNTER FORMS) ON A MONTHLY BASIS FOR EACH IDENTIFIABLE SERVICE ELEMENT (E.G., INPATIENT WARDS, OUTPATIENT TEAMS, SPECIALIZED REHABILITATION UNITS, ETC.). DATA IN THIS CATEGORY INCLUDE BENEFICIARY REPORTS, BENEFICIARY AND CONTACT COUNTS OVER TIME, LENGTH OF CLIENT TREATMENT CAREERS, AND TREATMENT LENGTH OF DIFFERENT DIAGNOSTIC GROUPS. GRAPHS OF THE DATA GATHERED IN 1973-1974 ILLUSTRATE THE ARTICLE. THE SECOND MAJOR TYPE OF DECISION-SUPPORT AND PLANNING INFORMATION INVOLVES THE ACHIEVEMENT OF 'PROCESS OBJECTIVES.' TWO COMMON OBJECTIVES ARE PROVIDING ACCESS TO SERVICES TO ALL MAJOR DEMORAPHIC GROUPS IN A CATCHMENT AREA, AND PROVIDING CONTINUOUS CARE, PARTICULARLY AS IT INVOLVES TRANSFERRING CLIENTS FROM ONE TREATMENT MODALITY TO ANOTHER. DATA ON ETHNIC GROUPS SERVED, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL OF CLIENTS, THEIR AGE, AND TRANSFER RATES ARE DISCUSSED AND GRAPHED. THE MENTAL HEALTH DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE SYSTEM AND THE PREDICTED RELATIVE UTILIZATION OF SERVICES ARE THE TWO METHODS USED IN SERVICE NEEDS ASSESSMENT. MANAGEMENT UTILIZATION OF THE RANGE OF INFORMATION SUPPLIED IS BRIEFLY DISCUSSED. (RCB)