Mental Health Programs

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
September 6-7, 2000

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

On-going Developments

Support the use of "people first" language within mental health research, policies, programs, and professions

9/08/2000

Existing CMHS policy distributed to all staff; materials reviewed for compliance

Endorse the use of the phrase "discrimination and stigma" rather than "stigma" alone

9/09/2000

March 2001 Symposium employed phrase; on-going implementation

Engage consumer/survivors in development of research

9/09/2000

Existing CMHS policy mandates consumer participation; steering committees include consumers

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
January 23-24, 2001

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

On-going Developments

Improve data collection on civil commitment for inpatients & outpatients.

1/25/2001

CMHS maintains some data on civil commitment for inpatients & outpatients. Additional data collection and analysis required

Develop a central library for recovery and cultural competence literature

1/25/2001

Ruth Ralph doing work in the area of Recovery. KEN recently developed website on Surgeon General Report on Race, Ethnicity and Culture, which includes much information on Cultural Competence (see http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cre).

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
May 20-21, 2001

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

Support the inclusion of consumer/survivors on the proposed National Commission on Mental Health

5/24/2001

Self-identified Consumer/Survivor Dan Fisher, M.D. was selected as a member of the New Freedom Commission

Develop grant initiatives for: Young adults w/SMI; & supported education and supported employment for people with mental Illnesses

05/24/2001

Employment Intervention Demonstration program completed; current efforts on youth transition

Fund a consumer-operated web site that uses current technology to evaluate mental health information on the Internet

05/24/2001

Contract awarded in 2004.

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
September 5-6, 2001

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

Continue grant support at current funding levels or higher for a minimum of five national consumer technical assistance centers of which at least three are consumer-operated.

9/07/2001

RFA issued and applications due August 7, 2003.

Initiate Knowledge, Development & Application efforts in the area of mental health on consumer-directed self-determination models such as personal care attendants, voucher programs (e.g. cash & counseling), individualized budgeting, etc., that have been successfully demonstrated by persons with physical/developmental disabilities and older adults.

9/07/2001

Self Determination meeting held in April 2003, follow-up meeting being planned.

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
February 5-6, 2002

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

The National Advisory Council Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues recommends that the CMHS National Advisory Council resolve the following: “CMHS supports programs that promote recovery by involving consumers/survivors in the design, delivery, and evaluation of services; the availability of resources for national training of consumers; and the existence of vehicles for community initiatives that promote consumer involvement in services.”

2/08/2002

Ongoing, Grants guidance statement

The Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee recommends that the NAC reaffirm the following recommendations previously adopted by the National Advisory Council at the September 2001 meeting:

1. Continue grant support at current funding levels or higher for a minimum of five national consumer technical assistance centers of which at least three are consumer-operated.
2. Initiate Knowledge, Development & Application efforts in the area of mental health on consumer-directed self-determination models such as personal care attendants, voucher programs (e.g. cash & counseling), individualized budgeting, etc., that have been successfully demonstrated by persons with physical/developmental disabilities and older adults.

2/08/2002

RFA issued and applications due August 7, 2003.

Self Determination meeting held in April 2003 and March 2004. Findings to be published in 2005, posted on Web.

Ongoing collaboration meetings with CMS.

Self Direction Education project to provide 3 video teleconferences in 2005.

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
June 17-18, 2002

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

The CMHS National Advisory Council unanimously urged action on an immediate appointment to the consumer/survivor seat on the Council.

6/20/2002

Appointment made June 2003

The Center for Mental Health Services National Advisory Council recognizes the National Council on Disability’s report “From Privileges to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speak for Themselves,” published January 20, 2002, as a meaningful documentation of consumer concern; and at the request of the Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee, will use it to inform its understanding of disparities in the treatment of all people with psychiatric disabilities; and accepts the challenge of the Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee to maintain awareness of these public policy recommendations as it advises the CMHS director.

6/21/2002

Ongoing

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
September 3-4, 2002

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

The CMHS Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues recommends that the CMHS National Advisory Council accept the Subcommittee’s Briefing Paper and formally forward the document to the Chair of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and send copies to the Commission members.

9/05/2002

Completed 11/05/02

The CMHS Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues recommends that the CMHS National Advisory Council recommend the inclusion of consumer/survivor involvement in the selection process of the new CMHS director and include both a consumer/survivor representative of the National Advisory Council’s Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues and a member of the CMHS National Advisory Council on the candidate review panel.

9/05/2002

The Subcommittee. developed a list of questions from the consumer perspective and submitted to Acting Director of CMHS on

12/19/2002.

The CMHS Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues recommends that the CMHS National Advisory Council write a letter to the Presidential Personnel Office that acknowledges an upcoming vacancy on the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA) Advisory Panel and strongly recommends that a mental health consumer/survivor be chosen to fill the upcoming vacancy.

9/05/2002

This information was passed along via phone calls and other informal communications.

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
June 23-24, 2003

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

In recognition of the importance of meaningfully involving Americans with various disabilities and to promote cross-disability collaboration and attention to cross-disability issues, SAMHSA/CMHS is encouraged to conduct outreach to such individuals and include their appointment to the SAMHSA/CMHS National Advisory Council.

6/25/2003

Pending.

In accordance with the current Self-Help Technical Assistance Center Request for Applications (RFA), SAMHSA/CMHS is strongly encouraged to continue – past the RFA’s one-year commitment - to fund and support the national mental health consumer technical assistance conference entitled “Alternatives” and to retain its respected, time-honored name and to maintain that the event is consumer planned and managed.

6/25/2003

Alternatives meeting retained its name and is scheduled for Oct. 2004 and 2005.

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
September 2-3, 2003

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

The CMHS National Advisory Council Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues recommends that the CMHS National Advisory Council advise CMHS, in conjunction with Goal 6 and Recommendations 6.1 and 6.2 of the Final Report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, to undertake pilot work to begin testing and developing a consumer-operated, culturally competent, interactive Web site that organizes information for consumers that supports self-care and self-determination, provides and updates a database of self-help groups, warm lines, and other consumer resources, shares stories of recovery, provides discussion list management software, employs chat rooms, manages interactive input from consumers, and serves as an IT (information technology) training tool by the end of 2004 and to be fully operating by the end of 2005.

9/04/2003

Contract awarded literature review begun, selecting technical advisory committee.

Work and service are American values and critical to recovery. The CMHS National Advisory Council Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues recommends that the CMHS National Advisory Council advise CMHS to increase support for jobs including the employment of consumers as funded service providers as described in Goal 2 and Recommendation 2.2 of the Final Report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.

9/04/2003

Manual for State Implementation of Peer Support Specialists near completion.

COSP results Fall 2004.

Over 50% of all community mental health services are currently funded by Medicaid. The CMHS National Advisory Council Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues encourages increased focus on recovery and rehabilitation that will ensure community integration. The CMHS National Advisory Council Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues recommends that the CMHS National Advisory Council advise CMHS to collaborate with CMS (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) to form an advisory body of beneficiaries with cross-disability representation and in proportion to the disabilities served by CMS in conjunction with Goal 2 and Recommendation 2.3 of the Final Report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.

9/04/2003

Pending – CMHS Consumer Affairs staff have a weekly conference call with CMS staff.

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
June 14-15, 2004

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

In support of Goal 3 of the Final Report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, a condition of the proposed State Incentive Grants for Mental Health Transformation should require that States fund the application of recovery-based research findings including peer-operated services and crisis alternatives.

6/15/2004

Pending

In support of Goal 5 of the Final Report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, focus groups should be conducted composed of representatives of racial/ethnic/cultural groups to identify:

1. Their specific needs and preferences for mental health services;
2. The unique factors that foster resiliency within these groups; and

c. Strategies for mental health leadership development among these populations.

6/15/2004

Pending

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
August 30-31, 2004

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

Goal 2 and Recommendation 2.3 of the final report of the President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health states that individual’s “must be able to exercise choice, self-direction, and control over their health care services” through the aligning of federal financing for healthcare.

Recommendation: Increase funding in programs such as the Mental Health Block Grant and State Incentive Grants for consumer-operated, culturally competent national and regional education and support for community-based self-directed services, person-centered planning, and individualized budgeting.

9/02/2004

Pending

Goal 2 and Recommendation 2.2 encourages consumer-run services and peer support.

Recommendation: Ensure funding from existing and future CMHS trauma and prevention services to support workforce development of peers trained and employed to provide trauma-specific services and supports.

9/02/2004

Near completion of trauma training curricula. Consumer Leadership program is developing Trauma Champions Institute.

Recommendation: To be clear that trauma includes abuse, physical and sexual abuse, especially including early childhood sexual abuse, and neglect. Furthermore, as a means of prevention prior to screening, assessment, and treatment in youth and adults, CMHS should work with other federal agencies to provide education and social supports on issues such as poverty, nutrition, and community and neighborhood supports for individuals who have experienced trauma and abuse.

9/02/2004

CMHS is entering MOU with the Office for Victims of Crime, and the Office of Violence Against Women at DOJ.

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
February 14-15, 2005

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

CMHS should ensure that mental health consumers are meaningfully involved in the design of the proposed consumer-operated services (COS) toolkit and include COS as a national outcome measure of the Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHSBG) program with guidelines to States on the utilization of MHSBG funding to promote these services.

2/17/2005

To ensure consumer-driven mental health systems transformation, CMHS should meaningfully include mental health consumers, including members of the Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee acting as individuals, in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the CMHS Transformation Action Center.

2/17/2005

The CMHS TAI Workgroup (Transformation Action Initiative) is working to operationalize the meaningful participation of consumers in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the TAI.

With vast majorities of consumers reporting trauma histories, CMHS should adopt trauma-informed approaches into every program and activity of the Center, including technical assistance centers, policy documents, grant announcements, and educational materials. CMHS should expand efforts – such as the Trauma Champions Institute developed by the CMHS Women, Violence and Trauma Center’s Consumer Leadership Program – to support the voice and participation of survivors of trauma.

2/17/2005

Planning has begun to infuse trauma informed concepts and practices into existing CMHS programs through the Action Planning for the Women, Violence, and Trauma Center. Champions Institute was held again in June in Washington, D.C., and plans are underway to develop it into a Women’s Center ongoing program.

CMHS National Advisory Council Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee Meeting Recommendations
August 15-16, 2005

Recommendation

Date NAC Adoption

Ongoing Developments

Support the dissemination of the Subcommittee consensus definition for “Consumer-driven” as referenced in Transforming Mental Health Care in America: The Federal Action Agenda, so that the definition will serve in tandem with the SAMHSA/CMHS supported consensus definition of “Recovery.”

8/18/2005

Ensure that all recipients of CMHS grants and contracts are incorporating the values, principles, and stated goals of mental health transformation into their own organizations by encouraging that all recipients of CMHS grants and contracts have mental health consumers as members of their governing bodies and that these recipients employ and integrate consumers into their workforce.

8/18/2005

Support consumer-driven transformation operationally with the Federal Partners Senior Workgroup and the Federal Executive Steering Committee by recommending that the Federal Partners and the Steering Committee appoint mental health consumer advisors on all of their respective agencies’ advisory councils and boards.

8/18/2005