OPEN MINDS The Behavioral Health & Social Service Industry Analyst Industry Special Budget strains at the state and local levels are creating pressures to show a return on investment for resources expended and are further fueling moves toward adoption of performance-based contracting (PBC). While performance-based contracting itself is not new, the shift in emphasis away from inputs or process objectives (defined in units of specific services) towards specific outputs or outcome objectives is a more recent development. The shift reflects general trends in the field where increased federal scrutiny . . .