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Conference focuses on early intervention for children’s mental health problems

Recognizing Early Warning Signs of Mental Illness in Children and Adolescents, a workshop for teachers, guardians ad litem, professionals and caregivers, will be November 14 at the Florida Mental Health Institute at the University of South Florida in Tampa.  The program has been approved by the DOE and teachers will receive inservice points for attending.  CEUs are also available. 

The day-long workshop is being sponsored by NAMI Florida, the Department of Children & Families and the University of South Florida College of Behavioral Health & Community Sciences.   Conference topics include:

• An Overview of Mental Illnesses and Treatment
• When a Crisis Occurs
• How Mental Illness Impacts the Family
• Children’s Mental Health
• Warning Signs of Children & Adolescents at Risk for Suicide

Registration includes *CEUs and a boxed lunch.  The fees are as follows:  $35 up through Friday, Nov. 13th and $50 if you register onsite.  *If CEUs are not needed, the registration is $20.  Seating is limited so register early.  For more details, registration form, and map of the campus, download the conference information packet by clicking here.

Advocates need to spread message of hope and recovery, says state mental health chief

About 50 people attended the NAMI Florida annual meeting October 2 to hear updates on state policy developments, inspirational talks and to applaud as their colleagues and fellow members were recognized with a series of awards.

Keynote speaker for the annual event was Kate Lyon, PhD, director of the Mental Health Program at the Department of Children & Families.  

Discussing recent developments at DCF, Lyon referred to the longstanding division between substance abuse and mental health treatment programs across the state, often to the detriment of those who need services.  She said DCF staff has been “working very hard to change the culture of our state toward one where when you need services for either or both health issues, you receive it.”

 “We are also working to create a stronger system of management for mental health and substance abuse treatment dollars than the department has traditionally been able to offer,” she said. “This new system, as it spreads across the state, will result in a smarter use of dollars, increased quality of services, and less duplication of services within a geographic area.”

Lyon noted that state officials, advocates and others have tended to describe the failures of the system in their efforts to inform the public and policymakers of key issues.  “Without meaning to, we have given the impression that this is an area of healthcare without hope and without success,” she said. “There is nothing that is farther from the truth.”

As an example, Lyon pointed to the treatment outcomes for mental illnesses when compared to other health problems.  “Treatment success rates for individuals with schizophrenia are around 60 percent, for individuals with depression, there is a more than 80 percent treatment success rate and if you suffer from panic disorder, your odds of success are 70-90 percent. “

“These rates of success surpass those of other medical conditions, such as heart disease (45-50 percent) and many forms of cancer.  We need to let our folks know that mental health as a health issue can be treated, can be treated well, and, if fully funded, will change the world.” 

Despite the impact of mental illness in this country and across the world, Lyon said mental health treatment is often “the first to be cut and the last to receive new funding.”

“Our job is to educate with hope,” she said.  “We have to make sure folks understand that this health concern is detectible through valid screening instruments, can be assessed reliably, and can be treated with success.  We have to let our law makers, our local, state, and federal funders that supporting mental health and substance abuse services are putting money into a winning healthcare system.”

Karen Koch, vice president of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health, and Michele Saunders, chair of NAMI Florida’s public policy committee, both spoke on key issues to be tackled during the 2010 legislative session that begins in March.  (See Saunders’ comments in related article.)

Koch said that improving funding for the community mental health system was a continuing priority for the Council, noting that Florida now ranks 49th in the nation in per capita funding for mental health care.

In addition, she said that as the state’s Medicaid Program expanded managed care as a cost containment measure, the amounts being reimbursed to behavioral health services providers have been dropping.  “They’re now getting about 50 cents for each dollar they spend on treatment services,” she said.

Although the state’s fiscal crisis will make it difficult to obtain budget increases in the 2010 Legislative Session, Koch said the Council would continue to make legislators aware of the need for additional funding.

Lyon added that DCF would also continue to make legislators aware of the needs for improvement in treatment services.  “We need to make a case as to why we have a system worth investing in,” she said.

Also speaking were Clint Rayner, director of consumer affairs for the DCF Mental Health Program, and Dr. Rajiv Tandon, formerly Chief of Psychiatry at DCF and a professor of psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine.  

Both Rayner and Tandon spoke of the strides made in treatment and support services over the past decade, including the rise of a strong consumer network.  These developments are making recovery and hope possible for those individuals living with mental illnesses. 

A number of individuals were recognized for their outstanding achievements at the annual meeting.

Receiving the 2009 Florida Awards were:
Affiliate of the year – NAMI Polk County
Advocate of the year – Jim Davis of NAMI Indian River
Consumer Advocate of the Year – John Grace of NAMI Pasco
Media Award – Polk Government TV – NAMI Polk County
CIT Advocate of the Year – Lt. Brian Garrett –NAMI Polk County
Presidents Award – Donna Helsel of NAMI Greater Orlando
Exemplary Psychiatrist Award – Dr. Rajiv Tandon

Recipients of the Consumer Council Hope and Courage Awards were:
Joe Mendoza of NAMI Greater Orlando
Adam O'Connor of NAMI Polk County
Department of Children & Families Secretary George Sheldon
 
The Peggy Yackulich Consumer Council Hope & Courage Award was awarded to George Ipolyi of NAMI Volusia/Flagler for his work in mentoring others on their path to recovery.

NAMI Florida adopts policy priorities for 2010 Legislative Session

A five-point list of public policy priorities for the 2010 Legislative Session was approved October 3 by the NAMI Florida Board of Directors at its annual meeting.

The policy statements adopted by the board focus on five critical areas that impact the lives of adults and children living with mental illnesses and the community as a whole, according to Michele Saunders, NAMI public policy chair.  “We’ve had a tendency in the past to change priorities from year to year, rather than building a case for our priorities from year to year,” she said.  The five priorities are:

Funding the System of Care:  NAMI Florida advocates for effective care for those suffering from mental illnesses through an adequately funded continuum of prevention, intervention, clinical, and support services.

Children’s Issues:  NAMI Florida strongly believes that the children of Florida who suffer with emotional disorders deserve to have access to a system of care that is responsive to their needs and those of their families and a system of care which promotes prevention and early intervention. 

Criminal and Juvenile Justice Issues:  NAMI Florida strongly supports justice system diversions that will help keep adults and juveniles who have a mental illness or serious emotional disorder out of the criminal justice system when possible; and provide them the interventions, treatments, and supports that foster recovery. 

Parity:  NAMI Florida strongly supports the passage of insurance parity for those with mental illnesses.  Insurance parity is fair and can save tax dollars by decreasing overall medical costs and reducing the number of people forced to seek publicly-funded treatment. 

Housing:  NAMI Florida knows that housing is essential to the recovery of individuals living with mental illnesses.  Access to safe and affordable housing has been shown to increase treatment success and help these individuals avoid such settings as jails, detoxification centers and crisis units, and hospitals.

A printable version of the public policy priorities can be downloaded by clicking on the link in the Related Files section at the bottom of this page.

Florida’s Mental Health System Earns a ‘D’ on NAMI National Report Card

Florida’s mental health system received a “D” in NAMI’s 2009 Grading the State’s report, a state-by-state assessment of the quality of the nation’s public mental health services.   The state’s standing has slipped since the last report in 2006, when Florida earned a grade of C.   

The report notes that while the need for mental health services has grown in Florida, “typically people must be in crisis to secure services.”   As one consequence, the report says the many people who receive little or no treatment enter the state’s criminal justice system when they experience a crisis.

Instead of building more prisons and jails, the report said Florida officials should focus on expanding “urgently needed” comprehensive mental health services.

There have been some positive developments, the report noted.  Among those cited was Florida’s Criminal Justice, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Act program, which provides state matching grants to counties to help them implement or expand programs designed to divert people with mental illnesses from jails and prisons.

“In addition, the state’s Supreme Court justices have taken the lead in drafting a plan for targeting intensive mental health services to people who are at the greatest risk of criminal justice system involvement.”  (A bill that would have implemented many of the high court’s recommendations failed to pass during the 2009 Legislative Session.)

Other positive innovations mentioned in the report were:

• Expansion of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training for law enforcement officers and creation of mental health courts in several judicial circuits
• The peer specialist training and certification program
• A move toward substance abuse and mental health treatment integration

Urgent needs cited by the report were:

• Cultural competence and workforce development plans
• More inpatient psychiatric beds
• Services for underserved populations

While some states are making consistent efforts to improve, the great majority are making little or no progress, according to Grading the States. As in 2006, the nation earned an overall grade of “D.”

“Without a significant commitment from our nation’s leaders—in Washington, among governors, and in state legislatures—state mental health agencies will continue to struggle to provide even minimally adequate services to people living with serious mental illnesses,” the report concludes.  You can download a copy of the full report or get a state report by clicking on this link.  You can select the state you want from the map.

Contact Us

NAMI Florida
316 E. Park Ave Tallahassee, Florida 32301
(850) 671-4445, or toll-free (877) 626-4352
Fax: (850) 671-5272
Email: namifl@namifl.org

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