Mental health programs are ordinarily assessed in terms of the extent of services rendered and the professional level of staff. These criteria do not permit an accurate judgment of the value of these services. It is proposed that measures of the effectiveness and cost of such programs are required. The relative contributions of an index of therapeutic impact versus a measure of improvement in "social competence" are discussed. It is concluded that the competence criterion is more objective and quantifiable in nature and more directly relevant to publicly supported mental health programs.