Few agencies have the resources to replicate the Program for Assertive
Community Treatment (PACT) model pioneered in Madison, Wisconsin, which
calls for around-the-clock, comprehensive treatment and rehabilitation
services for persons with serious mental illness. Most agencies modify the
model program, and little is known about patient outcomes in such altered
programs. This paper discusses issues in modifying the PACT model,
especially for use in rural areas. The authors focus on six basic elements
of the PACT model: multiservice teams, 24-hour service availability, small
caseloads that do not vary in composition, ongoing and continuous services,
assertive outreach, and in vivo rehabilitation. They describe how programs
in South Carolina that are adaptations of the PACT model have retained
these elements and achieved desired outcomes with smaller teams operating
on modified schedules.
Abstract Teaser