A mental health service delivery system first authorized by the federal Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963 to provide a comprehensive program of mental health care to catchment area residents. The CMHC is typically a community facility or a network of affiliated agencies that serves as a locus for the delivery of the various services included in the concept of community psychiatry.
Current regulations governing federal support for the centers require that they offer at least 10 services: inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, emergency services, consultation and education, specialized services for children and the elderly, transitional halfway house services, alcohol and drug abuse services, assistance to courts and other public agencies, and follow-up care.
An entity which provides comprehensive, principally ambulatory, mental health services, primarily to individuals residing or employed in a defined catchment area. The term is defined in the Community Mental Health Centers Act (section 201) which specifies the services to be provided and requirements for the governance, organization and operation of the centers. The CMHC Act provides for Federal financial assistance for the construction, development and initial operation of CMHC, and, on an ongoing basis, for the costs of their consultation and education services.