Information Center Bulletin
Volume 1, No. 2 Winter 1997-98

CMHS Fosters Collaboration - Consumers Play Key Role

Collaboration isn't just a matter of reducing duplication: It also means tapping into gold mines of existing expertise. And the federal Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) is discovering you don't have to look far to hit pay dirt. CMHS is involved in a number of in-house collaborative projects that bring together experts from various CMHS-funded technical assistance centers.

This mother lode is largely the result of a meeting organized through the Information Center last fall. It was the first time all of CMHS's technical assistance centers came together to share their missions and expertise. And, perhaps more importantly, they began to share and build on one another's resources in unprecedented ways.

One example of this collaboration is a work group to promote innovative consumer-operated programs. The National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning (NTAC) and the National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse, together with a fledgling consumer organization, are creating a "how-to" resource for developing successful consumer-based enterprises.

Through CMHS, NTAC and the Self-Help Clearinghouse are providing matching funds to sponsor this work. "It's gratifying to see this kind of high-level collaboration between CMHS's technical assistance centers," says Richard Bast, the NTAC Project Officer at CMHS. "Although we've always listened to the Self-Help Clearinghouse's perspectives and incorporated its suggestions, this project represents the first time these two technical assistance centers have worked so closely as equal partners. NTAC can provide the insight into how state systems might find the resource guide useful and promote its application."

One of NTAC's functions is to "scan the environment" of state mental health systems in order to predict needs and craft timely, effective responses, says Gail Hutchings, NTAC's Associate Director. "Consumers have been highly successful at developing and delivering services their peers want and need," she says. "Increasing the number of these consumer-centered, consumer-operated programs represents a win-win for states and consumers: The more consumers can play an active role in state systems reform, the more effective those systems will become. And getting this information out means folks won't have to reinvent the wheel as they create new programs that are right for their communities."

The resource guide will provide a blueprint for launching successful consumer-operated businesses, Hutchings says. It will answer questions such as: What do you do? How do you do it? What works? What are some unique programs? What's adaptable? What are common obstacles? How do you overcome them?

This project is a natural extension of the kinds of endeavors the consumer-run Self-Help Clearinghouse is known for. The 14-year-old organization offers, among other things, outreach and peer-provided services in the Philadelphia area, advocacy work, and it has helped start about 200 self-help groups across the country.

"Employing consumers as providers reaps a number of benefits," says Joseph Rogers, the Self-Help Clearinghouse's Executive Director for Programs. "It provides peer support, results in effective-and cost-effective-services, adds to the continuum of care, and taps into valuable human resources that otherwise might be overlooked."

The resource guide also will help these largely grass-roots consumer organizations hone their political skills to "gain a place at the table" of planning councils, have a say in how resources are allocated, and ensure that state systems reform is carried out in a thoughtful way. "We feel that active and organized consumer-run programs are among the best sources of accountability as mental health systems reform," Rogers asserts. "It becomes even more vital as managed care redefines the world of public health care."

"It's great that we are collaborating. CMHS has taken a real leadership role in encouraging technical assistance programs to wed their expertise and work together," Rogers says. "In addition, these consumer-run, consumer-centered businesses strike home the message that people who have serious mental illnesses can-and do-contribute to society."

The final document probably will be available through the Information Center, Hutchings notes. "It makes sense to take advantage of the Information Center's distribution capabilities," she says. "It's a wise use of resources."

For more information, contact CMHS Project Officer Richard Bast at 301-443-4257, Gail Hutchings of NTAC at 703-739-93333, or Joseph Rogers of the Self-Help Clearinghouse at 800-553-4539.

Information Center Bulletin
Volume 1, No. 2