Multnomah CAS

Multnomah Community Ability Scales (MCAS) assess symptoms, functioning, and behavior of adults who have psychiatric disabilities and live in the community. There are Self-Report and Clinician Report versions. The MCAS is most often used to track patients with severe and persistent mental illness.

It takes an average of 10 minutes to complete either of the Multnomah Scales. Instrument indicators focus on areas that are important to psychiatric patients and community mental health staff. MCAS scales provide useful information about the functional abilities of people with psychiatric disabilities by individual item, domain, and total score.

The MCAS was first created in 1983 by community mental health case managers. The MCAS has been tested and refined over time by a committed team of community mental health staff, university researchers and advocates. Both instruments (Clinician and Self-Report versions) are based on a standard 5 point Likert Scale. They measure degree of functional ability through seventeen indicators. The indicators are grouped into four sections:

1. Health: Physical, mental and emotional symptoms that interfere with daily functioning (5 indicators)
2. Adaptation: Critical abilities for coping with serious mental illness and surviving in the community (3 indicators)
3. Social Skills: How people with psychiatric disabilities interact with others (5 indicators)
4. Behavior: Personal actions that affect community tenure and positive service outcomes (4 indicators)