The article presents a preliminary statement of a frame of reference for the collection and utilization of ethnographic and documentary data. This framework was developed as part of a six-year study of the Illinois zone center program. The Illinois Department of Mental Health has been decentralized into eight zones, with model comprehensive treatment facilities in some of the zones. Active community planning is emphasized. The overall study collates survey, interview, and records data to portray a comprehensive picture of the total community system for mental health care and control. The design of the study approximates the classic before/after with control model. Two counties are included, one served by one of the new zone mental health centers, and the other not. Baseline observations have been taken at the start of the study and will be repeated in another three years. In very general terms these data include: patient-flow data, mental patient careers, mental patient knowledgeability and attitudes, public attitudes and knowledgeable of services and facilities, referral patterns, and knowledgeable of frontline professionals such as physicians, clergymen, attorneys, peace officers and others.