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Published by NAMI North Carolina
North Carolina’s Voice on Mental Illness Volume 9, Number 6, July 2001 State Reform
Planning Effort Underway One of the main features of the reform legislation moving through the General Assembly is the establishment of a state plan for mental health services. While the state has developed plans before, the legislation makes it clear that this plan be a true implementation plan, not just an abstract vision. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Carmen Hooker Buell has decided to move forward to develop a state plan for mental health services even before the reform legislation has passed. The time frame is short. She hopes to have a plan completed by the end of this year. A broad, diverse group of stakeholders representing providers, advocates, families, and consumers was convened on April 25th to serve as a State Plan Advisory Committee. Monthly meetings have occurred since that time. In the interim, Division staff, with stakeholder input, has developed draft components of the plan that are subsequently reviewed by the Advisory Committee. The reform legislation calls on the state to clearly define its vision of MH/DD/SA services across the state and to detail and clarify expectations for the provision of services. Specifically, the plan will require the state to:
In addition, the reform legislation requires the state to review all of the current rules, plan for the implementation of an ombudsman program, and develop a monitoring process for local business plans and to assure compliance with state and federal requirements. When the expectations and services have been defined and clarified, the state will require local programs to develop a business plan, a type of contract, that will detail how the local program will meet state expectations. Thus, the state plan must detail what the state will look for in these local business plans and how the state will assure that expectations and requirements are met. Specifically, the state plan will include methods to:
Clearly, the development of this state plan is a very ambitious project. But the purpose, to improve care and accountability, is an extremely important one and well worth the effort being committed to the project.
You Can Help There is a sincere commitment to receive and respond to public input on the state plan, especially input from consumers and families. Here is your chance to offer your experience and expertise to help develop the state plan. All comments received from the public are summarized and provided to the project team and state plan advisory committee. A number of ways to provide input are available:
Landslide Victory for Eileen Silber NAMI North Carolina’s own Eileen Silber was one of the top vote-getters of the five candidates elected to the NAMI Board of Directors during the national convention in Washington, D.C. last month. Eileen received widespread support from NAMI affiliates all over the country, who elected her to a three-year term on the NAMI Board. NAMI North Carolina was fortunate to have Eileen as president of our state Board, and now all of NAMI will benefit from her dedication and commitment. We know Eileen will do a terrific job in her new position. Congratulations to you, Eileen! A Common Question "What does NAMI North Carolina do with the money we contribute?" This was a question often asked by me when I was an affiliate president. Now that I am the state president, I know the answer. When I came on the state board, it quickly became obvious that the NAMI North Carolina Board is made up of people who have served in the trenches of their local affiliates. As affiliate leaders, they had all asked the same question: "What does NAMI North Carolina do with our money?" So it should not be hard to imagine that they now watch over every penny with that question in mind. We have many fiscal conservatives on the Board who frequently ask, "Will that project have an impact?" "Is it cost effective?" "Is there a less expensive way to do it?" These members are good stewards of your money. Take our education programs as just one example. Our Family-to-Family program is available to more and more families across North Carolina, free of charge. Those who teach the classes are volunteers. NAMI North Carolina screens the teachers, brings them together for training (also free), keeps their materials updated, and supplies starter kits for every new teacher team. Our teacher trainers are sent for their own training with Dr. Joyce Burland (the program’s author), usually in St. Louis. NAMI North Carolina provides an annual stipend to national NAMI to support the work of Dr. Burland and her staff. The dollars we invest in screening and training our teachers, helping coordinate their schedules, supporting the work of the national office, are then multiplied by the devoted work of the volunteers who offer this wonderful course. The net result is that families desperate for information and support are provided, free of charge, a course that–in the words of a recent graduate–"touched a deep place in my soul" and made him "feel empowered with confidence in my own ability to cope." This is just one example. Because so much of NAMI’s work is done by volunteers, this "multiplier effect" means that your dollar ends up being worth much more than you gave. So now I have no problem in answering my question: What does NAMI North Carolina do with my money? I know. Exploring Confidentiality Consumers often contact the Helpline believing that their client’s rights are being violated. One common complaint is that the consumer has refused to sign release of records from a previous hospital or psychiatrist, and yet, those records are being shared. However, North Carolina Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse statutes allow information to be shared among agencies. "Any area or State facility or the psychiatric services of the University of North Carolina Hospitals at Chapel Hill may share confidential information regarding any client of that facility with any other area or State facility or the psychiatric services of the University of North Carolina Hospitals at Chapel Hill when necessary to coordinate appropriate and effective care, treatment or habilitation of the client….The consent of the client or legally responsible person is not required for this information to be furnished, and the information may be furnished despite objection by the client." Similarly, upon the specific request, a responsible professional may release confidential information to a physician or psychologist who referred the client to the facility. (This does not include release of information to schools which have asked the family to have a child evaluated.) General Statues 122C-55 The Annual Honor Roll Once a year we honor the wonderfully generous members and friends of NAMI North Carolina whose financial support empowers us to do what we do. As we heard at last April’s Annual Meeting, almost half of the budget of NAMI North Carolina comes from individual contributions—far more than any other source. That’s good news for a lot of reasons. First, the funds underwrite the important work of support, education, and advocacy, which fulfill NAMI’s mission here in North Carolina. Our support begins with volunteers who meet in churches, hospitals, libraries and clubhouses. But we also need an 800 number, and a phone to answer it, and a database of resources where we can send folks who need help, and a copier and a postage meter and office supplies … Our Family-to-Family classes are taught by wonderful volunteers. But first they need to be trained, and the national NAMI staff who keep the curriculum updated needs our support … Our grassroots activists who write and call and email their legislators need a Government Relations professional to coordinate their activities, track the legislation, and sound the alarm …Your contributions pay for all these services and many more. Second, the fact that individual donations make up so much of our budget means that we are free of undue influence. There are other NAMI state affiliates around the country where almost every dollar comes from grants or contracts with that state’s Division of Mental Health. They are not free, as we are, to take stands and be critical and truly advocate for those we serve whatever the current political situation may be. Our private donors are keeping us free. Finally, the private contributions are important because they are tangible endorsements of our mission and our work. Those who give us financial support are saying in a very real way, "we believe." If you’re on our Honor Roll, thank you! It means so much. If you weren’t able to give last year, we hope you consider supporting NAMI North Carolina in the coming year. Research Volunteers with Schizophrenia Needed The CATIE Schizophrenia Trial is part of the NIMH-sponsored Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) Project. The schizophrenia trial is being conducted to determine the long-term effects and usefulness of antipsychotic medications in persons with schizophrenia. It is designed for people with schizophrenia who may require a medication change. All participants will receive a medication that is FDA-approved for schizophrenia. The study involves the atypical antipsychotics (olanzapine, quentiapine, risperidone, clozapine, and ziprasidone) and the conventional antipsychotics (perphenazine and fluphenazine decanoate). All participants will receive an initial comprehensive medical and psychiatric evaluation and will be closely followed throughout the study. For most participants the study will last 18 months. Everyone in the study will be offered an educational program about schizophrenia and family members will be encouraged to participate. This trial will include 1600 individuals with schizophrenia for whom a medication change may be indicated. All patients will receive some psychosocial treatment through study participation. Research participants and their family members will be offered psychosocial interventions directed at improving patient and family understanding of the illness, decreasing the burden of illness in the family, maximizing treatment adherence, minimizing relapse, enhancing access to a range of community-based rehabilitation services. Vic and Johanna Smith NAMI Wilmington has become a "life preserver" for Vic and Johanna Smith. They feel that the group took personal interest in them and became the important human connection they needed. But Vic and Johanna have taken a personal interest in the affiliate too. Since their son’s illness is stable, the Smiths are doing what they can locally to further the NAMI cause. Vic has served as affiliate president and, with Johanna, has led and supported many local affiliate activities. They, with other members of the affiliate group, have appeared before the County Commissioners to solicit financial support for an ACT team. Vic and Johanna have taught the Family-to-Family education course several times in Wilmington and have made numerous presentations about NAMI and mental illness to civic and law enforcement groups. The NAMI Wilmington affiliate holds an annual breakfast each October for city and county government officials, law enforcement chiefs, community leaders and legislators to raise awareness of mental illnesses and the needs of persons who have them. The Smiths have committed years to developing supported housing opportunities in Wilmington. The Smiths report that although the Wilmington Housing Authority has not been supportive to date, the affiliate is proceeding with a plan for supervised apartments exclusively for the mentally ill. The land is available, Southeastern Center (MH/DD/SAS) has agreed to provide services, and a builder has been chosen. Grants have been awarded from HUD and local foundations. Vic and Johanna would like to see school systems become more involved in educating their personnel about mental illness. The Smiths are also advocating for better policies for handling persons with mental illness who are involved in the court system. They would like to see more people who have had an unfortunate experience with law enforcement document the experience. Enough evidence might bring about a positive change. The Smiths’ greatest desire is for more members for the affiliate! With every new member there is a personal story, a unique experience, another voice, and leadership potential. The Smiths are proud to be member of the NAMI "army." They like that term because they see themselves as a force that will make sacrifices throughout their lives to protect and defend their loved ones with mental illness. Vic and Johanna, NAMI North Carolina salutes you!
Mark your calendars! NAMI North Carolina’s Fall Institute Saturday, October 27, 2001 Four Points Hotel—Sheraton Wilmington Brochures will be mailed in September. Board Sets Committees, Starts on Strategic Planning The NAMI North Carolina Board of Directors had a productive two-day retreat in June at Brown Summit, facilitated by two national NAMI regional directors–Joleen Bagwell and Brenda Johnson. With their help, the Board Committee structure was enlarged to help the Board in its work for the coming year. The committees and their chairs are:
In addition to setting a work plan and budget for the coming year, the Board began to look at the process for a new strategic plan for NAMI North Carolina for the five years 2002-2007. (Our current plan runs from 1997-2002.) The process will be guided by a Strategic Planning Committee, which will lead the effort to gather input from our members, affiliates, coalition partners, and staff. As this edition of Clippings goes to press, several of the committees have already had their first meetings, and the Board is off to a great start.
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