UC Berkeley

Two styles of management utilized by operators of California's alternative to the mental hospital - the community-based sheltered-care facility - have been identified. One style of management is characterized by a low-structure, laissez-faire approach that places the responsibility for decision making with the patient. The other style stresses structure and rule following, and leaves decision making to the operators of the facility. The authors examine patterns of client dependency in each type of facility. Residents in the highly structured environments manifest a distinct pattern of dependency while those in the environment emphasizing responsibility for one's own decision making do not.