Community Support Programs Branch
Consumer Peer-Run Activities and Services Programs
From the start, the Community Support Programs (CSP) Branch has supported the important role
of consumers of mental health services to inform and improve the mental health system.
The underlying goal of all the Branch’s programs is the transformation of the
mental health system to embrace the concept of consumer recovery.
Consumers can provide valuable and unique insight into the way health care is delivered and how
it can be made better.
Providing consumers and their supporters (family and friends) with the highest quality of information
is an essential step. Making meaningful choices about services options and being involved in
improving the mental health system are key activities. Since 1985, the CSP Branch has annually supported
the national Alternatives conferences to provide a forum for consumers from
all over the nation to meet and exchange information and ideas. This conference is organized
by and for consumers of mental health services.
The CSP Branch supports a variety of activities to involve consumers in mental health systems
planning and to play an active role in determining their services options including:
The CSP Branch supports five Consumer and Consumer Supporter Technical
Assistance Centers that
provide consumers and other stakeholders with information on topics related to consumer leadership,
self-help approaches, and recovery from mental illness.
The CSP Branch has a history of support for consumer involvement in mental health policy planning
and peer-run programs through funding of:
- Statewide Consumer Network Grant Program
- Consumer Operated Services Program (COSP)
Partnerships
The CSP Branch, in partnership with other Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA) offices, field experts and six Federal agencies convened the National Consensus Conference
on Mental Health Recovery and Mental Health Systems Transformation on December 16-17, 2004,
to help define the term “recovery.” Meeting outcomes included a National
Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery.
Best Practice Resources
Among the second generation evidence-based practices KITS is a new implementation
guide on Consumer Operated Services Programs (COSP). The COSP KIT is expected to be ready for
pilot testing in summer 2007. For additional updates on KIT development, check back to this
site at a later date. In addition, in partnership with the Department of Education’s
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation and Research (NIDRR), the CSP Branch supports
two Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs), which
conduct research, training, and dissemination projects.
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