Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
January 20, 2004, Vol. 04-08

CMHS SUBCOMMITTEE ON CONSUMER/SURVIVOR ISSUES PROVIDES CONSUMER PERSPECTIVES ON MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) maintains a congressionally mandated National Advisory Council (NAC) that advises the CMHS director on Center activities. In 2000, a subcommittee to the NAC was formed, the Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues, to serve as a fact-finding body and advise and make recommendations to the NAC on issues from the consumer/survivor perspective. To accomplish this task, members of the NAC serve on the Subcommittee as well as expert consumer/survivor consultants. (For a current membership list, please go to http://samhsa.gov/cmhs/AdvisoryCouncil/members.asp.) All meetings are open to the public.

The Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues met three times in 2003. Typically, meetings include presentations and recommendations on SAMSHA and CMHS Federal mental health activities. This past year's reports from staff included updates on strategic planning, budget issues, goal setting, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) consumer education, community and faith-based approaches, seclusion and restraint, consumer direction (self-determination), certified peer specialists, cross disabilities, criminal justice, the final report of the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, children's issues, and activities addressing discrimination and stigma.

Outside experts are also invited to make presentations to the Subcommittee on current topical issues in the mental health field. This year, the Subcommittee heard several reports from Dr. Dan Fisher, a commission member of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health and Co-Director of the National Empowerment Center. Dr. Fisher provided updates on the activities of the Commission as it developed recommendations to the president and gave members of the Subcommittee an opportunity to provide input into this process.

This past year, the Subcommittee heard from experts on the use of mental health courts that are intended to provide an opportunity to divert mental health consumers from incarceration. National leaders from NAMI and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law gave presentations on the advantages and disadvantages of using mental health courts.

The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia hosted the Subcommittee's third meeting of the year in conjunction with the annual Rosalynn Carter's Symposium on Mental Health Policy held last November. The Subcommittee met prior to the Symposium and heard from Thom Bornemann, director of mental health for the Carter Center Mental Health Program. Joel Slack, director of Respect International and a member of the SAMHSA National Advisory Council also spoke to the Subcommittee on consumer leadership development and collaboration. The Subcommittee then participated in Mrs. Carter's Symposium.

At every Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee meeting there is a public comment period. Speakers range from national level consumer advocates to local interested parties. Important comments and information are gleaned from these sessions. Over the past year, representatives from national organizations such as CONTAC (Consumer Organization and Networking Technical Assistance Center), the National Mental Health Consumers' Self Help Clearinghouse, the National Empowerment Center, the National Mental Health Association, and NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) have presented their views to the Subcommittee.

The following is a complete list of the recommendations that were developed over the course of 2003 by the Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee and adopted by the CMHS NAC.

June 23-24, 2003 - Subcommittee Meeting

• 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. Adopted by NAC on June 25, 2002.
  
  
• 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. Adopted by NAC on June 25, 2002.

September 2-3, 2003 - Subcommittee Meeting

• 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. Adopted by NAC on September 4, 2002.
  
  
• 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. Adopted by NAC on September 4, 2003.
  
  
• 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. Adopted by NAC on September 4, 2003.

For more information about the Subcommittee and its activities, the minutes of each Subcommittee meeting and other relevant information are posted on the SAMHSA Mental Health Information Center Web site at http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/consumersurvivor/programs.asp.

Individuals interested in serving as expert consultants on the CMHS National Advisory Council's Subcommittee on Consumer/Survivor Issues should submit a resume and a letter of interest to Chris Marshall at cmarshal@samhsa.gov or by mail to Chris Marshall, SAMHSA, Center for Mental Health Services, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 10-102, Parklawn Building, Rockville, Maryland, 20857.

Stay tuned to the CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News for dates and locations of upcoming 2004 CMHS Consumer/Survivor Subcommittee meetings.

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.