OBJECTIVE: The authors investigated the administrative relationships in 1990 between medical school departments of psychiatry and community mental health centers (CMHCs). METHOD: A 20-item questionnaire was sent to the chairpersons of the 110 medical school departments of psychiatry with accredited psychiatric residencies. RESULTS: Sixty-nine percent of the chairpersons responded to the questionnaire. Sixty-eight percent of the responding chairpersons reported that their departments had relationships with CMHCs, and 90% of these relationships involved the education of psychiatric residents. Most responding chairpersons described the quality of their existing CMHC relationships as good to excellent. In the most common type of relationship reported the CMHC was used as a setting for resident education. The vast majority of responding chairpersons stated that quality resident education is possible in a CMHC, and about two-thirds of the responding chairpersons with CMHC relationships involving residency education rated the CMHC rotation as of major importance to their residency programs. CONCLUSIONS: CMHCs continue to be an important and valued component of the educational experience for many psychiatric residents, and many departments of psychiatry have recognized the advantages and benefits of CMHCs for residency training. There are now considerable data on how a relationship between a medical school department and a CMHC should be structured to achieve maximum benefit for both the department and the CMHC.Abstract Teaser