Level of Care Utilization System (LOCUS)
Clinicians familiar with LOCUS find it relies upon information collected during intake and diagnostic and functional assessments. Having this information, completing the LOCUS normally takes less than 15 minutes.
LOCUS reviews four resource areas (care environment, clinical services, support services and crisis resolution/preventive services) across each of six dimensions. One of the dimensions has two subscales for a total of seven scales. The seven scales are: risk of harm, functional status, co-morbidity, level of stress, level of support, recovery history, and engagement.
Based upon an analysis of the four resource areas within each of the scales, LOCUS recommends not a specific service but, instead, the type of setting and intensity (both frequency and duration) of services in conjunction with health care team participants that are likely needed to provide the appropriate services.
Starting October 1, 2010, DHS expects that adult MH-TCM, ARMHS, IRTS, Partial, Day Treatment, ACT, ICRS providers use the use the Level of Care Utilization System (LOCUS) tool.