| Abstract: | The movement of a group of chronically mentally ill clients among various facilities for residential care was described with a Markov probability model. The results of a goodness-of-fit test indicated that the model accurately captured the flow of clients among the state psychiatric hospital, the in-patient units, the community, and three types of group homes. The model was then used to answer several policy-relevant questions about the functioning of the continuum of residential care, such as how often vacancies can be expected to arise and how efficiently clients are progressing along the continuum. |
