ABSTRACT
When the Ventura County Children's Demonstration Project (now referred to as the Ventura County System of Care) began in 1985, California's mental health services for children and youth were in shambles, as were services in much of California. Resources were steadily dwindling for nearly 2 decades, although the population was booming. Mental health services were isolated from other human service agencies, and were typically estab-
lished on the basis of mental health practitioners' perceptions of needs. The planning system then employed by the State was the California Model, developed by a group of county mental health directors, and state mental health staff. It designated the amount of each type of service that each county should have based strictly on population size. The California Model was designed by county mental health directors on the basis of best guesses about how much of what types of service would be needed by the general population. Counties had to report on whether or not they met these levels of service, and create 3-year plans showing how they would adjust their resources if they were not in compliance.
