Evaluation of outcomes and cost-effectiveness of a community behavioral support and crisis response demonstration project.

A behavioral support and crisis response demonstration project authorized by the Minnesota Legislature in 1992 was evaluated. We described the demonstration program, its service users, and satisfaction and concerns with the program of service recipients, their families and careproviders, and county case managers. We also provided follow-up data on the outcomes of the first year service users and gave the service outcomes projected by case managers had the program not been established. These projected outcomes were validated by follow-up of a comparison group of persons unable to access the program's services. Cost-effectiveness was computed from costs of establishing and operating the demonstration program and the actual average costs of the services that were projected to otherwise have been used.