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Because of the desire for a more comprehensive community-based approach to mental health problems, stimulated in part by the late President Kennedy, a survey of 11 such settings was published in 1964 as The Community Mental Health Center: An Analysis of Existing Models. Concerning the Psychiatric Receiving Center of the Greater Kansas City Mental Health Foundation, the survey team stated, "We are inclined to view the Psychiatric Receiving Center's program as one of the best among the eleven we visited...." Now, in A Community Concern, Mr. Epps, Dr. Barnes, and Dr. McPartland have written a more complete review of the foundation's historical origins, operational realities, and concerns about as yet unmet needs.
The community concerned is the urban complex of Greater Kansas City, which includes over 1 million persons in two cities and five counties. An enlightened citizenry were able to recognize the need for unitary planning and control, and