Table 7e. Number and percent distribution of full-time equivalent staff1 in residential treatment centers for emotionally disturbed, by staff discipline: United States, selected years, 1972–94

Staff discipline 1972 1976 1978 1986 1990 1992 1994
Number of FTE staff
All staff 17,025 19,352 22,443 34,569 53,220 55,678 59,011
Patient care staff 11,299 13,824 16,464 25,146 40,969 42,801 51,725
Professional patient care staff 6,738 8,990 10,824 17,599 26,032 30,207 29,765
Psychiatrists 147 149 140 335 498 748 283
Other physicians 34 27 22 86 101 126 52
Psychologists2 354 434 497 911 1,492 1,641 961
Social workers 1,653 1,778 2,196 4,585 5,636 6,506 3,843
Registered nurses 244 301 324 746 1,238 1,367 858
Other mental health professionals 4,177 6,072 7,359 9,435 16,765 18,970 23,608
Physical health professionals and assistants 129 229 286 1,501 302 849 160
Other mental health workers 4,561 4,834 5,640 7,547 14,937 12,594 21,960
Administrative, clerical, and maintenance staff 5,726 5,528 5,979 9,423 12,251 12,877 7,286
Percent distribution of FTE staff
All staff 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Patient care staff 66.4 71.4 73.4 72.7 77.0 76.9 87.7
Professional patient care staff 39.6 46.5 48.2 50.9 48.9 54.3 50.4
Psychiatrists 0.9 0.8 0.6 1.0 0.9 1.3 0.5
Other physicians 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1
Psychologists2 2.1 2.2 2.2 2.6 2.8 2.9 1.6
Social workers 9.7 9.2 9.8 13.3 10.6 11.7 6.5
Registered nurses 1.4 1.6 1.4 2.2 2.3 2.5 1.5
Other mental health professionals 24.5 31.4 32.8 27.3 31.5 34.1 40.0
Physical health professionals and assistants 0.8 1.2 1.3 4.3 0.6 1.5 0.3
Other mental health workers 26.8 25.0 25.1 21.8 28.1 22.6 37.2
Administrative, clerical, and maintenance staff 33.6 28.6 26.6 27.3 23.0 23.1 12.3

Sources: Published and unpublished inventory data from the Survey and Analysis Branch, Division of State and Community Systems Development, Center for Mental Health Services.
1 The computation of full-time equivalent staff is based on a 40-hour work week.
2 For 1972–78, this category included all psychologists with a B.A. degree and above; for 1986–94, it included only psychologists with an M.A. degree and above.

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