The Community-Oriented Programs Environment Scale: A methodology for the facilitation and evaluation of social change

This paper describes the rationale and illustrates the utilization of a scale, the Community-Oriented Programs Environment Scale (COPES), which attempts to assess systematically the psychosocial environments of transitional community-oriented psychiatric treatment programs such as halfway houses, rehabilitation centers, day care centers, and community care homes. Applications for facilitating and evaluating social systems change are discussed.