Ninety-five graduate mental health education programs in 13 western states were surveyed to determine labor needs in the states and the extent of collaboration between schools and state mental health service agencies. The focus was on four disciplines: psychiatry, psychology, social work, and nursing. Attention was directed to the following concerns: collaboration between training programs and public sector service agencies; whether schools develop the knowledge and skills needed by professionals in public sector mental health jobs; the role of university mental health education programs in preparing their graduates to serve state priority client groups, such as the chronically mentally ill, mentally ill offenders, and severely disturbed children and youth; whether training programs are able and willing to adapt preservice program curricula and field experiences to more effectively meet state mental health system needs; barriers or problems that prevent higher education from attending adequately to these client groups; the extent to which university research focuses on issues of concern to state managers and policy-makers; and suggestions from educators on improving collaboration with the state. A list of education programs surveyed and the questionnaire are appended, along with statistical findings and a list of student and faculty research topics. (SW)