Comparison of outcomes for clients seeking and assigned to supported housing services.

As part of state-supported interventions to reduce risk of rehospitalization, seriously disabled psychiatric patients who had been involuntarily hospitalized twice in the previous three years were assigned to receive supported housing services in an Oregon community. Compared with 22 voluntary clients in the same supported housing program, the 21 involuntary (assigned) clients rated higher on risk factors such as history of suicide attempts, self-neglect, homelessness, and medication noncompliance, The involuntary clients showed a much higher utilization of supported housing services and case management, psychiatric, and shelter services during the nine months after entry into the program, and they had a higher one-year rehospitalization rate. However, they used substantially fewer inpatient days in the six months after entry in the program than in the six months before.