February 9, 2005

Carmen Hooker Odom, Secretary
NC Department of Health and Human Services
2001 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC  27699-2001
 

Dear Secretary Odom:

NAMI North Carolina is grateful that the Division of MH/DD/SA services is committed to taking appropriate actions to correct the deficiencies in group homes for mentally ill children. On-going oversight of services contracted out to private providers is critical to the reform effort in order to ensure accountability for quality care. While we recognize that the dollar costs of such oversight are high, tragic and even more compelling are the lives that have been irreparably damaged, if not lost, through inadequate staffing ratios, lack of training and supervision, and lack of effective mechanisms to ensure accountability. 

NAMI North Carolina’s concern extends beyond the deficiencies in group homes for mentally ill children. We urge the Division to be vigilant in the oversight of adult group homes that serve the mentally ill as well.  While perhaps less visible to the public, tragedies have occurred, including deaths, in adult care facilities due to inadequate staffing, training and oversight.   

NAMI North Carolina would look forward to working with the Division to develop mechanisms to ensure that quality of care is available and monitored for all children and adults with mental illness living in housing that is sponsored and funded by the state of North Carolina through the Division.

NAMI North Carolina recognizes that one of the benefits of this reform is the local community’s role in shaping the values and defining the quality of the services provided to its recipients.  Therefore, we hold the Department accountable for ensuring that the appropriate stakeholders inform the processes of provider selection and of determining the quality monitoring processes.  We expect that local consumers and family members are to be involved in collecting information from other consumers of local services, and that there will be due diligence to prevent conflicts of interest where providers are involved.  There must be choice of providers in this divested system and the process which invites providers must reflect appropriately on how a service is valued in the continuum of care.  The outcome of a provider’s effort should be the support of a consumer’s recovery in a community which he or she can call a home community.

Thank you for your efforts in addressing these matters. We look forward to working with you to improve the living conditions for the many citizens of North Carolina who are living with brain disorders.

Beth Garriss Hardy, Ph.D.
President, NAMI North Carolina Board of Directors

C:         Mike Moseley, Director, MH/DD/SA
            Pender McElroy, Chair, Commission for MH/DD/SA; Commission Members
            Representative Verla Insko, Co-Chair, Legislative Oversight Committee
            Senator Martin Nesbitt, Co-Chair, Legislative Oversight Committee, Committee Members