DIVISION OF STATE AND COMMUNITY SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

State Planning and Systems Development Branch

2000 National Technical Assistance Conference

The CMHS Division of State and Community Systems Development hosted its 2000 National Technical Assistance Conference on Community Mental Health Planning July 30 through August 1 in Washington, D.C. This annual conference is designed to provide education, training, and technical assistance to key stakeholders in States and communities that participate in the development of State plans for community-based systems of care. This year's conference theme was "Community Coordination: Making the Surgeon General's Report Work for You." Deputy Surgeon General Kenneth Moritsugu represented the Office of the Surgeon General and delivered a videotaped message from the Surgeon General David Satcher about his vision for the future of mental health.

More than 370 individuals attended the conference, including State mental health planners and planning council members, mental health professionals, advocates, researchers, consumers, and family members of adults with serious mental illness and children with serious emotional disturbances. All 59 recipient jurisdictions of the Community Mental Health Services Block grant attended, as well as 15 to 20 representatives from Protection and Advocacy agencies from across the country.

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams welcomed participants to the District and addressed some of the challenges the District faces in providing for those in need of mental health services. Panel presentations included the implications of the Olmstead decision for States and the provision of mental health treatment for those with co-occurring disorders. Sessions were held on improving data collection to support the development and expansion of community-based services and supports. NASMHPD Immediate Past President Roy Wilson closed the conference by directing participants to make the recommendations of the Surgeon General part of the future of mental health.

Incorporation of P & A Visits with State Monitoring Visits

Beginning in 1999, the Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG) program began making a concerted effort to incorporate visits to Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) programs into its State monitoring visits. (PAIMI programs safeguard the rights of people with mental illness.) The MHBG program conducts a minimum of 10 State monitoring visits each year, as required by statute. The visits are designed to introduce the MHBG project officer to the State Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system and to obtain a status update on PAIMI activities. During the visits, State PAIMI program staff are encouraged to share accomplishments, strengths and/or weaknesses, barriers and unmet needs, and State mental health consumer trends/issues. In turn, MHBG project officers share the outcomes of these discussions with CMHS P&A staff for follow-up action. Since February 2000, MHBG project officers have visited State P&As in Montana, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Michigan.

Reviews of FY 2001 Mental Health Block Grant Applications

MHBG program staff is preparing for five regional consultative peer reviews of FY 2001 applications. Review panels are comprised of representatives from all key stakeholders in the mental health system, including consumers, family members, mental health planning council members, P&A representatives, and State planners. Reviews of State applications are scheduled as follows:

Northeast Region - week of October 16, 2000
Midwest Region - week of October 23, 2000
Southwest Region - week of November 6, 2000
Southeast Region - week of November 13, 2000

Uniform Data Reporting System

The need to collect uniform and comparable data on mental health services from the States has gained increasing importance with the advent of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and an accompanying move towards accountability. In an effort to demonstrate that systems of care supported by the MHBG program are efficient and effective and that consumers who receive services are achieving positive outcomes, the CMHS State Planning and Systems Development Branch conducted a five-State feasibility Study. Based on the success of the five-State study, CMHS began a 16-State Pilot project to collect uniform data from the States. Collection of uniform data from the 16 States has begun.

To further meet the need for accountability, the CMHS State Planning and Systems Development Branch is undertaking a two-part approach to quickly move the MHBG program toward a Uniform Reporting system. First, CMHS has drafted regulations that require the collection of unduplicated and uniform data from all States and Territories, as part of the MHBG applications process. In order to accurately evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of the MHBG program, CMHS is requesting basic utilization, fiscal, quality, and outcome data; information on persons who need treatment but do not receive it; and information on those persons who receive inappropriate care.

Second, CMHS is exploring the possibility of working with NASMHPD to collect and report uniform data from the States, as part of the MHBG State plan. NASMHPD has made a commitment to this initiative and has agreed to provide leadership. Partnership efforts are currently focusing on the discussion of methods for determining the mental health needs of persons with serious mental illness and serious emotional disturbances and the identification of elements to be included in the uniform reporting system. Over the past several months, CMHS and NASMHPD have met with key mental health commissioners to identify data elements that States will be asked to provide with their FY 2002 mental health block grant applications. Survey and Analysis Branch

Meetings and Conferences

The Survey and Analysis Branch held its annual National Conference on Mental Health Statistics, May 31 to June 2, 2000, in Washington, D.C. Approximately 400 representatives from State, community, academic, consumer, and family groups participated in the 49th national conference. Conference sessions were guided by the theme, "Back to the Future: Out of the Past." Plenary sessions included presentations on the Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, Decision Support 2000+, human rights in mental health, and a town hall meeting on consumer surveys. Breakout sessions covered the evolution of employee assistance programs, mental health issues in Australia, and accreditation and measurement.

A summit on common performance indicators is being planned for October 30 and 31, 2000, at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The goal of the summit is to identify a very small common set of performance indicators for the entire mental health field, including both public and private components. A planning committee comprised of representatives from all key public and private mental health constituencies is organizing the event.

Publications

Branch staff is currently preparing text for a special issue of the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. The special issue on frontier mental health services will contain six sections: 1) What is the frontier? 2) Mental health service availability and access; 3) Care of special populations; 4) Special concerns and approaches; 5) Cost and outcome of care; and 6) Future strategies. The special issue is scheduled for publication in Fall 2000.

The Survey and Analysis Branch also is currently preparing Mental Health, United States, 2000, a biennial publication on major mental health policy and statistical issues. The Year 2000 version will contain 20 chapters organized into four major sections: Looking Ahead and Reflecting Upon the Past; the Status of Mental Health Statistics at the Millennium; the Status of Mental Health Services at the Millennium; and Key Elements of the National Statistical Picture. In addition, Branch staff is preparing the Mental Health Directory, 2000, a detailed reference listing of organized mental health services available in the U.S. An electronic version of the directory can be found on the Information Center web site at mentalhealth.samhsa.gov.

Go To Report

Page One: Year-end Report

Page Two: Legislative Update

Page Three: Program Activities and Initiatives

Page Four: Division of Knowledge Development and Systems Change

Page Five: Division of Program Development, Special Populations, and Projects

Page Six: Division of State and Community Systems Develpment

Page Seven: CMHS Staff Notes