Each year at the Institute on Psychiatric Services, APA honors a number of community programs that care for mentally ill or disabled people. The awards are a reminder that the staff of many of these programs —often facing a lack of funding and other necessary resources, are not willing to let the needs of these patients go unmet.

The 2000 Psychiatric Services Achievement Awards were presented at APA’s Institute on Psychiatric Services, which was held in October in Philadelphia. These awards are presented each year to innovative and outstanding programs for mentally ill or disabled people. These programs must have been in operation for two or more years, have overcome obstacles, and serve as a model for other communities.

In addition to the two Gold Awards, three Certificates of Significant Achievement were presented. They went to the Center for Autistic Children in Philadelphia, the Criminal Justice/Community Outreach Program of the Montgomery County Emergency Service Inc. of Norristown, Pa., and the Psychosocial Rehabilitation Program of Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Va.