The Kennedy 1963 legislation has propelled the mental health industry into urban and rural communities wherein service accountability becomes increasingly important to service provider, consumer, and funding agency. Also, the shift from federal to local funding necessitates an increased emphasis on economic, social, and political marketing finesse for program legitimation and accountability. Consequently, a more rational planning process, appropriately labeled Problem, Policy, Program (PPP) will be described which takes into account community problem awareness and policy issues prior to actual program design.
PPP attempts to assess the preconditions for community mental health services being developed in light of three specific constraints: first, by clearly ascertaining the problem for the particular community under consideration. This will entail ensuring that the mental health program addresses an important, visible, and recognized problem for the region or community of concern, and which the community and its leaders agree needs attention and mental health services; secondly, to assure that the general or broad policy constraints for urban and rural areas are incorporated in developing the mental health program, including the distinctive features of developing services for those areas with strong political support and suspicion of "outside experts." And finally, the third constraint of programming which means the adequate development of the specific set of programs and staff to address the prior constraints of problem and policy.