Consultation services offered by community mental health centers (CMHC) have gone through several significant changes since the signing of the Community Mental Health Center Act of 1963 (The President's Commission on Mental Health, 1978). Initially, consultation and education services were an integral part of the CMHC mission. With the passage of additional legislation that promoted a shift in focus, consultation services declined. By 1981, with the passage of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (Cutler, 1992) national mental health policy was adrift. Consultation and education were no longer seen as central components of mental health services, which increasingly were tied to acute care hospitalization. With a renewed focus on consultation and education, a coherent mental health policy can be reintroduced at the community level.

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This paper presents a descriptive analysis of a community based alcohol rehabilitation programme serving a four county area in the Mid-Western U.S. The programme's objective is to return the alcohol abuser to as normal functioning in the community as possible, and to reduce the burden on law enforcement, correctional institutions, and other social agencies in the community. To accomplish this, the programme offers a comprehensive range of indirect and direct services to alcohol abusers and their families, as well as to the community. Para-professionals were utilised in the programme for intensive follow-up with respect to basic physical and psychological needs. Professionals as well as para-professionals often function as client advocates to facilitate the reintegration of their clients into the community. An evaluation of the effectiveness of this programme is offered. The data is based on a sample of fifty alcohol abusers randomly selected from a population of 460 referrals who had used this treatment service from July, 1972 through September, 1974. Some demographic characteristics ofthe clients are presented. Because a change in drinking status suggests but does not confirm the effectiveness of a treatment programme, additional objective measures are offered. Unobtrusive measures including changes in court offences, health care, employment status, and a cost analysis ofthe treatment components have been utilised. The results generally indicate that the programme successfully approached many of these criterion.

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