This is a qualitative descriptive study of how competency to take care of oneself and one's financial affairs was evaluated in New York City during the years 1989-1991 by the Human Resources Administration's Visiting Psychiatric Service . Most VPS clients are indigent senior citizens. A visit by VPS can result in forced institutionalization or lost control over one's finances. Data were collected from interviews with key informants , written materials about VPS, court cases and a report summarizing a recent City (...) Council investigation of VPS. Major problems concerning how VPS operated were found. VPS conducted competency evaluations in such a way that some people's rights may have been suspended inappropriately and others may not have been given the type of intervention they needed. These problems appear to stem from several interlocking factors: VPS operates with very little public exposure of its work. Most clients served had in essence little recourse to respond through legal channels to VPS recommendations that may have been based on faulty evaluations. In most cases the court approved the actions recommended by VPS. This study highlights dangers of the system and the need to change the way that competency is evaluated. (shrink)