Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #105135

Rex S. Green, PhD, CQE, RHIT, GreenScene Results Group, 1240 Gershwin Terrace, #106, Fremont, CA 94538, 4086791910, RSGreenScene@sbcglobal.net

The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2003) states, “...the Nation must replace unnecessary institutional care with efficient, effective community services that people can count on.” The overall goal of a transformed system must be recovery; six goals were identified that current systems should strive for. However, no money is forthcoming from the federal or state governments to make such a sweeping transition. Last November, 2004, California passed a proposition calling for making the recommended changes and providing new funding to support system revision and the integration of evidence-based practices into the system. Approximately $300 million will be generated from an additional tax on higher level incomes in 2005, up to $700 million per year subsequently. This presentation recaps the key provisions of the proposition, dubbed the Mental Health Services Act, and relates what three counties in the Bay Area are doing to implement system change. This winter initial planning meetings are being scheduled by counties to identify and dialog with many stakeholders. Then, each county must submit a plan for changing the system and indicate how much funding is needed. The state expects to award counties the funding requested in their plans starting in July, the next fiscal year. Collaboration among counties, advocacy organizations, and client activists occurred during the development of the proposition and the campaign to convince voters to support it. Now, these new connections can be strengthened by the planning process and the development of a revised service system that emphasizes client recovery.

Learning Objectives:

• How California generated the funding to implement the recommendations of the President’s New Freedom Commission on upgrading public mental health services.
• What three counties in California are doing to implement system change.

Keywords: Mental Health System,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.